Green tea and honey
by symaethis
Summary: This is a romance fic set around the time of the "Turn back the Pendulum" arc. The main characters are our favourite captains Ukitake Jushiro and Muguruma Kensei; later the relationship between Kyouraku and his lieutenant Lisa will come into the picture. And this will definitely be worthy of the M rating, just wait a little for the good stuff ;)
1. Chapter 1

Hello everybody ;) this is my first fic, so don't be too hard on me, please ^^ Though I do appreciate comments and constructive criticism.  
This fic is set around the time of the "turn back the pendulum" arc, but at some point we will come to the time skip and the fic will continue after the war against Aizen (attention, potential spoilers ^^)

* * *

Jūshirō Ukitake sat in his usual spot, overlooking the long abandoned training field, which was surrounded by a small forest. The trees left an opening to one side so that one could see the horizon, making this a perfect spot for watching the sunset. It would maybe take fifteen more minutes until the blazing red star would have completely vanished behind the mountains in the distance, to only leave behind some faintly orange and pink coloured clouds.

Ukitake allowed himself a small sigh as he took in the scenery, then he closed his eyes, savouring the last rays of sunlight that fell warmly on his skin. Sometimes he needed to remind himself that life was actually beautiful – and watching the sunset from this spot usually did the job quite well. He hadn't felt too great all day and had barely been able to make it through the daily squad training without having anyone notice his weak condition. But if the day continued as calm as it was right now, he would get a good night's sleep, and in the morning he'd feel much better again. Probably.

He continued to sit still for a while, listening to some birds singing in the distance and the wind rustling through the leaves above his head, when he suddenly felt a weak but fast moving reiatsu at the periphery of his perception. It didn't seem to directly approach him, but it definitely came closer. As the distance between them decreased, he noticed that this was actually a quite powerful soul, which had been concealed quite skilfully, yet not completely, by it's owner.

A little alarmed, he closed his eyes and searched the area for more unexpected company, but he could only sense this one weak reiatsu, which had changed direction by now, and was heading directly towards him. It was very fast; the owner of it must have been using flashstep, which was quite a risky task in the densely wooded area. Something about the feel of this reiatsu seemed familiar, though...

Two seconds before the person arrived behind him from the woods, Ukitake recognised him and smiled.  
"Good afternoon, Muguruma-taichou", he said aloud, but without turning around. Behind him, he heard a displeased sounding laugh.  
"So you've recognised me", responded the deep voice of Kensei Muguruma, the captain of Squad 9.  
"Yes. Although you concealed yourself quite skilfully", said Ukitake, now turning his head to smile at the younger man. Muguruma didn't answer, instead he slumped himself on the ground right next to Ukitake and took a deep breath. He was wearing only his wide shihakusho without his captain's haori and had a white towel hung around his neck; little droplets of sweat covered every inch of his exposed chest, trickling down over the tattooed "69" that decorated his muscled stomach.  
"Watching the sunset?", he said after a moment.  
"Yes", Ukitake answered, "it is a beautiful spot."  
"True", the younger man mumbled. "You come here often?"  
"From time to time, if the weather is nice."  
"It's been quite long since I took the time to watch the sunset..."  
"I find that it puts my mind at ease", Ukitake smiled, "you should stay and watch it with me."  
"Hm", was Muguruma's only response.

For a while they sat together in silence, watching the sun approach the horizon very slowly, immersing the sky in the most beautiful red, orange, yellow and pink colour shades.  
Ukitake observed the other man from the corner of his eye; the young man's usually stern face had smoothened as he seemed to be lost in deep thoughts, his gaze locked on to something in the distance. Without realising it, Ukitake smiled. He really didn't mind the other captain's company; in fact, he quite enjoyed it. Although they never talked much – and didn't really know each other, for that matter - they had somehow, without words, established some kind of a mutual liking.

A few minutes later, the sun had completely disappeared behind the horizon, and the air felt considerably cooler. Just when Muguruma wanted to get up and excuse himself to continue his training, Ukitake cleared his throat, and his hand flew hastily up to his mouth as he tried to suppress some heavy coughing.  
"I'm sorry", he managed to rasp with a hoarse voice, when Muguruma gave him a questioning look.  
But the coughing didn't seem to get better, quite the contrary. Ukitake's whole body seemed to cramp as he tried to fight back the coughing reflex.  
"Ukitake-taichou?", Muguruma said, concerned.  
"Don't worry", the white-haired captain answered with some effort, in the attempt to normalize his heavy breathing, "it will pass..."

_Please no please no please no,_ he thought as he tried to hold his breath in order to smother the coughing, which was a quite painful thing to do, _not in front of him_...

But he already felt it coming. A metallic taste spread in his mouth, and the burning pain in his chest became even more acute. He wouldn't be spared this last humiliation... Muguruma's eyes widened in shock as he saw the bright red blood drip from the other captain's pale fingers. The man was shaking, but he didn't seem to be surprised, or even shocked. Obviously, he had experienced this kind of fit before. Which didn't make this situation any less scary.

With every rattling cough, more blood spilled from his mouth, dripping down from his fingers and re-colouring the grass beneath him. Ukitake didn't know which was worse, the pain or the humiliation. He only knew that both added up to him just wanting to cease to exist right there. But suddenly, he felt Muguruma's body close to his, soothingly stroking his back with a strong, calloused hand. A white towel moved into his field of view. Gratefully, Ukitake took it and pressed it to his mouth.

After a few minutes, which seemed to both of them like an eternity, Ukitake managed to calm down again. Muguruma stayed close to him, continuing to gently rub his back, until his breathing had returned to normal. By now, the older man was leaning heavily against him; the towel, which he held limply in his hands, was stained in bright red.  
"I'm so sorry", Ukitake whispered, his voice completely gone.  
"Don't speak", Muguruma said decisively, "I'll go and get someone from the 4th. You should lie down in the meant-"  
"No", Ukitake interrupted him, "there's no need..."  
"No need?! You just coughed out half of your lungs!"  
"There's nothing they can do", Ukitake insisted. "It will be best if I just go home and lie down."  
"Damn sure you should lie down. But you won't _'go'_ anywhere. I'll take you to your living quarters – do you think you can get up?"  
"Yes", Ukitake said, and they carefully got to their feet. "But you really don't have to-"  
"Quiet now", Muguruma snapped, and without further hesitation he lifted the other man, who was even taller than himself, effortlessly off the ground, holding him like a child to his muscled chest. "Stay still, I'll try a shunpo."

Ukitake didn't even have time to respond. He felt Muguruma accelerate very quickly, until he reached a speed at which he still could manoeuvre safely through the woods. The sight of the trees flying past them in a blur gave him a feeling of nausea, and so he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Additionally to the well-known burn inside his chest he felt his stomach churn, and he wearily allowed himself to lean his spinning head against Muguruma's shoulder.

As he dodged another thick branch that appeared before him, the captain of the 9th felt the shaky fingers that were coiled loosely around the seam of his _kosode _tighten notably. Concerned, he slowed down his speed and inclined his head a little to check on the man he was carrying. Just then, Ukitake raised his head and Muguruma felt his lips brush the silky, white bangs right above the man's temple. _Like freshly washed sheets..._ Startled by the unexpected closeness, Muguruma almost didn't dodge the next branch.

"Please accept my apology, Muguruma-taichou", Ukitake whispered, his eyes still closed, oblivious to the younger man's near stumble, "you shouldn't have to be in this situation..."  
"I thought I told you not to talk", Muguruma said firmly, but showing some kind of crooked grin. "Neither one of us should be in this situation, and besides, it's not your fault."  
"That's not entirely true", Ukitake replied, but his voice was too low for Muguruma to catch. What the young man did get, though, was Ukitake's breath that brushed over his neck.

Thank god they were out of the forest already.  
Ukitake was grateful that Muguruma slowed down his speed smoothly instead of simply jerking to a halt when they finally reached the the 13th division's headquarters, which also contained his office and living quarters. They stopped right in front of the big entrance gates, and Muguruma carefully let the other man get back on his feet.

"Do you want me to go inside with you?", he asked, observing him closely.  
"That won't be necessary", Ukitake answered and gave him a weak smile, "I'm feeling much better already. Thank you, Muguruma-taichou, I'm in your debt."  
"Not at all", Muguruma answered and opened the heavy door for his fellow captain, watching him slowly make his way inside, before he turned around and left.

* * *

"... that kid seriously needs to chill out", Shunsui Kyōraku finished the newest story about how Byakuya, the young heir of the Kuchiki-Clan, had – again – tried to pick a fight with him over nothing. As if to illustrate the concept of "chilling out", he took a sip from the small sake cup he held in his hand, as he sat back comfortably against the wooden pillar behind him and suppressed a yawn.

Ukitake gave a soft chuckle as he pictured his friend trying to calm down the said boy, who was indeed quick with pointing the wooden blade of his bokken, his training sword, at anyone who looked at him funny. The two of them sat on the veranda of Ukitake's living quarters, overlooking the spacious garden, both leaning comfortably against one of the pillars that supported the wooden roof of the building. Kyōraku's ever present sakkat, a triangular reed hat, sat on the porch between them, next to a bottle of sake and a teapot.

It was a typical spring day – the sun was shining in a blue sky, but in the shade the air was still cool and damp.

"You should cut him some slack", Ukitake said, taking a sip from his still too hot tea, "as heir of the Kuchiki-Clan, he is carrying a huge burden, and reality will get to him soon enough."  
"Why do you always have to be so reasonable", Kyōraku sighed, grinning. And, after a while: "Care for a walk, later?"  
"I'd love to go", Ukitake answered, "but, don't you still have work to do?"  
"Nah. I have a very capable Lieutenant. She is worth her own weight in gold."  
"Take care that she doesn't get angry at you again, letting her do all of your work. You know what happened last time."  
"Yeah, yeah I know", Kyōraku replied, grimacing at the painful memories.  
"Excuse me", a deep voice said behind them. They turned around simultaneously, facing captain Muguruma, who had stepped on the veranda through the open _fusuma_, the sliding doors that led inside the building.  
"I didn't mean to disturb you..."  
"Oh, don't worry!", Ukitake hurried to assure him, "Shunsui was just about to leave."  
"Was I?", the said Shunsui wondered.  
"Yes, since you have lots of important work to do", Ukitake insisted, shooting a strict look at him, "remember?"  
"Oh, all right." Kyōraku gave in, and got to his feet with an exaggerated sigh.  
He grabbed his sakkat and his sake bottle. "S'ya later, Jyuush", he said, grinned at his friend a last time and nodded in Muguruma's direction, "Muguruma-taichou", before he disappeared inside the house.

"Please, sit down, Muguruma-taichou", Ukitake said and pointed towards the now free cushion next to him. "Would you like a cup of tea?"  
"Yes, thank you", Muguruma answered while sitting down. "And if it's okay with you, I'd say there's no need to be so formal... Ukitake-san."  
"Of course, I agree", Ukitake said, smiling, while he poured some tea into the spare cup that Kyōraku hadn't used earlier, "Muguruma-san."  
Muguruma smiled back and took the cup of tea with a _thanks_. After he had taken a drink, he looked at the long-haired man with a stern expression.

"How are you, Ukitake-san?"  
"I'm fine", Ukitake replied, smiling. "You really needn't worry about me."  
"I'd really appreciate an explanation, though", Muguruma said, folding his arms in front of his chest.

The older man sighed and lowered his gaze. "Well, I guess you do deserve one... It is an illness of the lungs I have had since my childhood. So far, no one was able to find out what it is, let alone cure it. And I don't think they ever will. But I can live with it, and _usually _I am able to assess my bodily condition quite accurately..." He paused to take a sip of his tea. "I am sorry about what you had to witness yesterday. I should have known better... I hadn't felt well all day and should have stayed at home."

Muguruma gazed at him with an uninterpretable expression. Finally, he sighed and said:  
"Well, that sure sucks", and scratched his head.  
Ukitake gave a surprised laugh. "That about sums it up..."  
"I'm sorry", Muguruma continued, "Don't take this the wrong way, but... How can they let you be a captain?"  
Even though Ukitake had been expecting this kind of question, the choice of words took him slightly aback.  
"I mean", the young man carried on, "if something like this happened to you during an important battle, you would most likely get killed... and whatever mission you were on would fail."  
"I know the risk", Ukitake answered calmly, "and Head-Captain Yamamoto knows it as well. But I fear you're under the wrong impression that I'm completely defenceless when my body decides to act against me. Believe me that I can still put up a very decent fight, even when I'm in my worst condition. Surely, I would have to push myself to the absolute limit, but I wouldn't hesitate to take my enemy to the grave with me."

Muguruma just nodded. "You feel affronted, Ukitake-san", he said, "I'm sorry, that was really not my intention... I have no doubt that you would kick my ass in a serious battle."  
"Me neither, Muguruma-san", Ukitake replied, smiling back at the young man with the silver hair.  
"It's good that we agree in this point", Muguruma grinned and moved his legs to sit more comfortable. As he did so, they heard a "clink" sound, and Muguruma reached for the small ceramic sake cup that had been half hidden under the cushion. "Oh. It appears Kyōraku-taichou forgot something."  
"He can pick it up later when he comes by", Ukitake said, "I'm sure he's already missing it dearly."  
The young man laughed. "People told me that you two are joined at the hip", he said, "I always thought they were exaggerating, but, obviously, they were not."  
"We certainly spend much time together", Ukitake answered, abstractedly staring at the sake cup, a faint smile on his lips.  
"How long do you know each other?"  
"Since my first day in the academy. Thus, for a very, very long time..."  
Muguruma nodded, then put on a conspirative expression and asked in a low voice: "Are you two... well, how should I put it... maybe... more than friends?"

Ukitake almost choked on the sip of tea he was taking, repeatedly cleared his throat and put the tea cup safely back down before answering:  
"No. Not at all."  
"Oh."  
"Honestly, you must be the first person ever thinking Shunsui was in a relationship with another man."  
Muguruma laughed out loud. "Well, I do have been told that he's a real lady-killer, but... oh, never mind, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be intrusive." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop by quickly and see how you were doing. I should get going, the paperwork won't do itself."

If Ukitake was surprised by the sudden leave-taking of his fellow captain, he concealed it very well. "Tell me about it", he answered, smiling. "Thank you for your visit, Muguruma-san. I always enjoy your company."  
"My pleasure", Muguruma replied and took a bow, "thank you for the tea. I guess I'll see you around." And with that, he left.

* * *

"Shun", Ukitake greeted his friend when they met for their walk in the late afternoon, "many things happened after you left!"  
"Really? What did I miss?"  
"Ginrei Kuchiki came to visit and-"  
"Kuchiki-taichou?" Kyōraku sounded almost disappointed. "I thought this was gonna be about Muguruma-san..."  
"No? Why?!" Ukitake was confused for a second, but decided to simply carry on with his story:  
"To put it in a nutshell: He asked me to train his grandson in kidō."

Kyōraku gave a sympathetic laugh. "Seems like you hit the lottery, Jyuush... you gonna do it?"  
"How could I refuse such a request from Kuchiki-taichou? Of course I'm going to do it."  
"What does this old man think, anyway? That you don't have enough work to do as it is?"  
"It's going to be only one or two days a week. Besides, I'm thinking of his request as an honour."  
"Yeah... good luck training that little brat. If you want some advice, I can give you a list of things to avoid mentioning when the kid's around."  
"You were teasing him on purpose, weren't you?"  
"Nah, just a little bit..."  
"By the way, you forgot your sake cup", Ukitake remembered and produced the said thing from somewhere deep inside his pockets.  
"Gee, thanks, Jyuush", Kyōraku said, acting overly happy, as he took it back. "By the way, _you_ forgot to tell me about Muguruma's visit", he added with a wide grin.  
"What do you think there is to tell? He simply swung by to see if I was all right."  
"Yeah, after he played white knight for you yesterday..."  
"Stop it, Shunsui", Ukitake cut him off, seriously annoyed.  
"Why so tense?" Kyōraku was not yet giving up. "Did I hit a nerve or something?"

Ukitake had been ready to hit his friend in the face, when he saw the wide, sheepish grin that spun across the other man's features, and had to laugh involuntarily. "Not at all, Shun. By the way, Muguruma was under the impression that you and I were a couple."

This statement had Kyōraku laugh out loud. "Get out! - But I bet he was glad to hear that you were still available."  
"Shunsui, I swear, if you won't stop this..."  
"Come on, Shiro, didn't you notice the way he looked at you?"  
"I'm sure that you were imagining things. Now let's please change the topic."  
"All right", Kyōraku gave in, still smiling, "but first tell me what makes you so sure."

Ukitake sighed acquiescently and and folded his arms in front of his chest.  
"Well, to only name one point, I don't think that he found my blood-coughing particularly alluring."  
Kyōraku rolled his eyes and sighed with mock impatience. "Jyuush, I think what you need right now is a good drink", he stated while putting an arm around Ukitake's shoulders, "how about later you join Hirako and me?"  
"You and Shinji-san go out drinking again?", Ukitake asked, smiling.  
"Yeah, he's a fun guy. You wanna come?"  
"Thanks, Shun, but I don't think I should be out drinking already. I appreciate your invitation, though."  
"It's your decision", Kyōraku said, slightly squeezing the other man's shoulders. "It'll probably be better if you get into bed soon."  
"My thoughts exactly."  
They stopped, and Kyōraku gave is friend a searching look. "You all right, Jūshirō?"  
"Of course", the white-haired man replied with a reassuring smile.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Muguruma was visiting the _Kenkou Rando_ Spa, which he thought he totally deserved, given that his lieutenant had been especially annoying this day. The sun was already setting, and he had planned to just soak in the hot _onsen_ for a while and have a tea in the relaxation room afterwards. At this time, there weren't many other people around, and he hadn't met anyone he knew, which he found quite agreeable. He really wasn't in the mood to talk.

Damn, if he could only figure out how to get that annoying Mashiro Kuna to shut the fuck up, if only for ten seconds!

With a relieved sigh, he let his body immerge into the hot, steaming water and laid his head comfortably back against the edge of the bath. He stayed immobile like this, listening to the distant sounding voices of other guests, somewhere inside the spa buildings, until he felt his tensed, stiff muscles slowly relax. That was more like it...

When he opened his eyes again, the night had fallen, and the area around the onsen was only sparsely lit with a few dim lanterns. He already felt a bit light-headed – an effect of the hot water – and was thinking about leaving soon, when the _fusuma_ of a nearby spa building were sled open, light falling on the grass outside and letting it seem green again. It had been an employee of the spa who had opened the sliding doors, now moving back inside and asking: "Is that better?"

"Yes. A lot better, thank you."

Muguruma instantly recognised the second voice – it was that of Jūshirō Ukitake. Curious, he craned his neck to get a better look inside.

Obviously, this was a massage room, since Ukitake lay face down on a high lounger, while the girl from before was applying some oil to his back. He was naked, except for a small towel that covered his bottom. It felt almost like a shock, seeing the other man, unexpectedly, laid bare like this, thinking of how his body was always hidden under the many layers of clothing that comprised the traditional captain's uniform. But even from the distance, Muguruma found that Ukitake's physique was just like he had imagined it to be. He was not very muscular, but his body was well trained and perfectly in shape nonetheless. His skin was quite fair and seemed very smooth and virtually hairless; right now it was all shiny with the oil the girl had spread during the massage.

Muguruma spontaneously decided to prolong his stay in the hot water – he wanted to enjoy that view a little bit longer. But lucky for his circulation, the girl was finished already fifteen minutes later, asking if everything had been all right.

"Yes, it was very relaxing. Thank you", the white-haired man answered with his soft voice, undoubtedly giving her one of his infamous smiles that made all women blush, like she did right now.  
"You're welcome." With this, she bowed slightly and left the room. After she had closed the door, Ukitake slowly sat up straight on the lounger, his back turned towards Muguruma, who was still watching his every move from his hiding point. When he was done with extensively stretching his arms and yawning discreetly, Ukitake got up and walked towards the door, giving the man hiding in the onsen a full view of his naked backside, for almost five glorious seconds.

_What a nice ass..._ Muguruma felt the heat rising to his spinning head. He really needed to get out of the water...  
If he hurried, he'd maybe even meet Ukitake in the dressing room!  
Spurred by that thought, he climbed out of the onsen and hurried through the shower room in record time, just to stroll casually into the dressing room, greeting Ukitake as if their meeting was completely coincidental. They seemed to be the last customers, since the spacious room was empty except for the two of them. _Jackpot_.

"Muguruma-san", Ukitake said, flashing him a big smile. He had been drying his wet body with a towel, which he now held in front of himself to discreetly cover his private parts. "What a surprise! I've never seen you in the spa before."  
"Good evening, Ukitake-san", Muguruma smiled back, not even trying to hide his nakedness. And he could have sworn that, for a split second, Ukitake had been checking him out, too. "Yeah, I rarely come here. I think one shouldn't indulge in such luxuries too often."

They both carried on to dry and dress themselves while they talked.

"So, today you've allowed yourself a special reward?", the white-haired man asked.  
"Yeah, today was especially annoying."  
Muguruma tried really hard to peek inconspicuously, but Ukitake kept turning his back towards him. Which wasn't too bad, either.

_Damn, I'd like to smack that..._

"I know days like that", the older man said, chuckling softly.  
"Any plans for tonight?", Muguruma asked, offhandedly.  
"Well, yes. I'm going to have dinner with my hopefully soon-to-be lieutenant and a few of the seated officers."  
"Sounds like fun."  
"We will be talking about squad coordination and politics, mostly."  
"Yeah... at least there will be dinner", Muguruma grinned.

"Jūshirō~", they heard a cheerful voice call from outside the door, "are you in there?"  
Ukitake just rolled his eyes, but smiled. "I'm here, Shunsui", he answered, "I'll be done in a second."  
Nonetheless, the door was torn open, and Kyōraku stuck his head in.  
"Jyuush", he began, but fell silent again when he noticed the other man in the room, before he started to grin. "Muguruma-taicho, what a surprise."  
"Good evening, Kyōraku-taicho."  
"Jyuush", he continued, "me and Hirako are gonna meet up with Shihoin later, wanna join us at the bar after your dinner?"  
"Well..."  
"Of course", Kyōraku said, facing Muguruma and smiling, "you are invited to join us, too, Muguruma-san. The more, the merrier, as they say."  
"I don't know when we will finish dinner", Ukitake replied, slipping into his captain's haori, "but I will join you if it's not too late."  
"Great", Kyōraku grinned, "what about you, Muguruma-san? You'll come too, right?"

* * *

When Muguruma regretfully woke up the next morning, he felt like someone had driven a long, rusty iron nail right through his head.  
"_Damn you, Kyōraku"_, he mumbled in a hoarse voice, rubbing his hands through his face and carefully feeling whether there was an actual nail stuck in his skull. There was none.

How the fuck had he ended up like this?!

The evening before, he had originally agreed to the meeting because he thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get in touch with Ukitake's best friend, and trying to get some insider-information about the white-haired man out of him. Plus, with the chance of Ukitake himself joining them at a later point, the evening had seemed quite promising. The plan had been absolutely foolproof. Until...

Until that _damned_ Kyōraku and that _damned_ Shihoin had drunk him under the table - skilfully.

He remembered them filling up his sake cup time after time, he remembered some singing and laughter was involved, and he remembered drinking sake right from the bottle. And then... nothing. Groaning, he tried to slowly get up, but a wave of nausea forced him back onto his futon.

_Fuck you, Kyōraku._

He tried to remember if he had embarrassed himself in front of Ukitake, but he didn't even know whether the captain of the 13th squad had showed up at all. _Hopefully not._

Wait... _How the hell did I get home...?_

Muguruma lifted up his blanket, just to discover that he wasn't wearing his shihakusho any more, but the simple blue yukata that he usually wore to sleep.  
He was pretty sure that in the state in which he had been the night before, he hadn't been able to change into his sleepwear all by himself, let alone find his way home. Which he took as further proof that he had, in fact, embarrassed the shit out of himself last night.

Kyōraku was so going to die for this...

* * *

"Bless you", Ukitake said, after Kyōraku had sneezed. They sat on the rooftop of one of the 8th squad's building, where Ukitake had found his friend drinking tea.  
"Thank you."  
"How was your little get-together last night?"  
"Oh, it was so funny", Kyōraku answered and laughed at the memory, "a pity you didn't come, in the end."  
"Why, what was so funny?"  
"Well, apparently Muguruma felt challenged when Shihoin made fun of him for rejecting drinks, and things went a little bit out of hand..."  
"Muguruma actually came, and he got _drunk_?", Ukitake repeated, not quite believing the news.  
"Oh yeah, they both got drunk all right..."  
"And you were completely innocent, of course."  
"Of course! You know me, Jyuush. I was the one who dragged both of them home, after they fell asleep under the table. Or should I rather say, passed out."

Ukitake just raised one eyebrow at this, and Kyōraku laughed.

"Don't worry, Jyuush", he said, "I won't tell you any more details. I'm sure you wouldn't want Muguruma-san's honour to be stained in your eyes."  
"Why is it that you always try to imply there's something between me and Muguruma-san? I hardly even know him. Besides, I'm easily twice his age!"  
"_Because_ he's interested in you, and you like him, too", Kyōraku stated plainly. "It's only a matter of time."  
"Shunsui, you are _nuts._"  
"Oh, so am I? Then why was Muguruma on about pestering me with questions about you, yesterday, asking all kinds of stuff about your personal life – and _especially_ your love life?"

Kyōraku watched with satisfaction how Ukitake's face dropped upon that last remark.

"He was not!", the white-haired man insisted, although not sounding very confident.  
"Oh yes, he was. But don't tell him I told you. He'd kill me. Well, at least he'd try."  
"What..." Ukitake didn't know what else to say.  
Kyōraku was seemingly enjoying his friend's confusion and gave an amused chuckle.  
"Ah, playing match maker is so much fun!"  
"Could you please stop doing that? It's quite unnerving."  
"Why? Don't tell me you're not into him, even_ I _think he's hot."  
"Yes, he's hot. There, I said it."  
"Then what's the hold up?"  
"Well, foremost, I never thought that he'd want _me _in the first place. And secondly... he's so young, it makes me feel really old."  
Kyōraku laughed out loud, patting Ukitake on the back. "If you want my advice: Just stop over-thinking things and nail him."  
"Shunsui!"  
"What? It's about time you got laid again."  
"Psh!" Ukitake gave a disbelieving snort. "Who the hell are you to talk? When was the last time _you_ got laid? Besides, since when do you take such a great interest in my sex life?"

Obviously, Kyōraku found this situation very funny.

"Don't get angry, Shiro", he laughed. "If you really want it, I'll stay out of this from now on."  
"Thank you... By the way, what did you tell Muguruma-san when he was asking you... about me?"  
"Nothing too explicit. Anyway, you needn't worry, I'm pretty sure he has no memory of last night."

* * *

Despite Kyōraku's persuasive speeches, Ukitake still wasn't convinced about Muguruma's intentions. Especially since during the next few days, the young man kept his distance, greeting him only quickly when they met here and there. Ukitake wasn't surprised, but disappointed nonetheless. _Stupid Shunsui...  
_So when one sunny day he was taking a walk in the streets of the Seireitei, and he saw Muguruma coming his way, he was prepared to simply give a greeting nod and pass by. Thus, he _was _surprised this time, when Muguruma smiled and stopped to talk to him.

"Ukitake-san. How are you?"  
"I'm fine, thank you. What about you, Muguruma-san?"  
"Me too. Except that, thanks to your friend, I recently had the most terrible day of my life - so far", the young man added with a fierce grin.  
"You mean Shunsui?"  
"Yeah. I'm sure he told you what happened."  
"Not in detail", Ukitake replied, smiling. "he follows the philosophy _'what happens when drunk didn't happen'_. Besides, he's not the one to gossip about others."  
"That's good to hear", Muguruma said, seeming actually relieved.

The only thing he remembered about the said night was that he had somehow forgotten about the concept of discretion, and had asked Kyōraku some explicit questions about Ukitake, based on which it must have been easy to guess his true intentions. Unfortunately, he couldn't even remember if he had gotten any valuable answers at all, which rendered his already stupid actions completely useless. Until now he had been positive that the captain of the 8th squad had told his friend all about this embarrassment straight away. Seemed like Kyōraku wasn't such a bad guy, after all...

"And what happened on the, so far, most terrible day of your life?", Ukitake asked curiously.  
"Well, let's just say that my lieutenant, who is the super most annoying person in the world, now has something she can rub into my face for the rest of my life", Muguruma answered with knitted eyebrows.  
"Oh no", Ukitake chuckled, "I'm sorry."  
"Never mind, I blame it all on Shihoin and Kyōraku-san."  
They just smiled at each other for a second, until Muguruma suddenly lowered his gaze and nervously cleared his throat.  
"Are you going to see the fight for the 3rd seat's position of squad 11 tomorrow?", he asked.  
"Of course."  
"You know the two guys competing?"  
"Not personally. I just know that according to their captain's assessment, they're of fairly equal strength."  
"Sounds like it's going to be interesting."  
"It does."  
"So... I'll see you there, I guess?", Muguruma said, and immediately wanted to bite his tongue. Since when was he such a socially awkward dork?! But Ukitake just smiled amiably and nodded. "Until tomorrow, Muguruma-san."


	3. Chapter 3

Muguruma didn't notice too much of the fight. From the very beginning, he had been sure about who would win, although the other guy did have some surprises up his sleeve and managed to drag the fight on quite a good deal. Everything he could think about about was that embarrassing situation he had been in just earlier.  
When Ukitake had arrived, he had meant to casually stroll over to him, stand next to him during the spectacle and perhaps make some witty and intelligent remarks about this or that move. And so, when their eyes had met, they had smiled at each other greetingly, and Muguruma had started to move towards the white-haired captain - only to stop short when Kyōraku appeared next to his object of desire.

_Fuck._

He had seen them exchange a few words and then both look at him, so he had grabbed the next best person, like it had been his intention all the time to talk to – _shit_, Retsu Unohana.  
What the hell should he have to say to _her_? What was she doing here, anyway?!  
He had stammered some nonsense about how he really liked her hair, with Unohana smiling at him confusedly, and then he quickly went to hide himself somewhere in the crowd.

_Damn damn damn. _Why couldn't he just crawl into some hole in the ground and die right now...

He simply hadn't been ready to confront Kyōraku, after this one embarrassing night... he wouldn't have been able to look him in the eye without blushing like a fucking schoolgirl. Again, Kyōraku was the main target of his hate, obviously. Why couldn't _this guy_ just crawl into some hole in the ground and die? It would really help him a great deal.

* * *

The following days, he thought really hard about how to get closer to Ukitake, how to find out if the white-haired man was only the least bit interested in him. And that without making a complete fool out of himself, _again.  
_So he memorized the feeling and structure of Ukitake's reiatsu, and, constantly on the lookout for it, crossed his way whenever possible, greeting him like their meetings were completely coincidental.  
Until, some day, Ukitake casually asked him if he wanted to have some tea in the evening. He continued to chatter about how he grew and dried and whatever his own tea leaves; Muguruma wasn't really listening. All he did was grin from ear to ear.

* * *

Ukitake didn't know why he was so nervous, waiting for Muguruma to arrive. He didn't even know what he expected to happen.

On the other hand, he knew very well where Kyōraku expected this evening to end. Which was Ukitake's bed. Or, alternatively, the table. Or the floor. Or the lawn in his garden... His friend had quite explicitly informed him about _his_ imagination of what might happen, until Ukitake had felt impelled to end this flow of words with a well-aimed blow of his elbow.

Maybe this foolish blabber was the reason why he was so nervous. Stupid Shunsui.

He already felt Muguruma's reiatsu near by, slowly approaching his house. And his heart was beating fast.

"Good evening, Muguruma-san", he greeted him, smiling. "How nice that you could make it."

"Thank you for the invitation", the young man answered with a slight bow.

At first, the atmosphere between them had been quite formal and stiff, but the longer they had talked, the more they had loosened up, feeling comfortable in the company of the respective other. The topics of their conversations had shifted from current politics, over strange encounters they had had in various fights against hollows, to their time in the academy and how things there had changed.

Muguruma kept praising Ukitake's tea, until Ukitake let slip out that he also grew bonsai trees, glancing absent-mindedly at Muguruma's exposed, muscular chest with the number "69" tattooed right above where his belly button must have been.

The white-haired man was slightly puzzled when Muguruma broke into a peal of laughter, almost spilling his cup of tea.

"You must be pulling my leg, Ukitake-san", he laughed, "growing bonsai is more an appropriate hobby for old man Yamamoto... and he might be still too young to officially qualify, I'm not sure..."

"Well, excuse me", Ukitake replied, feeling the need to defend his bonsai's honour, "that is a very relaxing and philosophical activity, not to mention rewarding."

"You're actually serious?"

"Of course."

"I don't believe you. I wanna see them."

"Fine..."

And so they walked through the darkness of Ukitake's spacious garden, to the little wind-sheltered area behind a low stone-wall and some bushes, where he kept his precious bonsai. There wasn't much to see without daylight, anyway, but Muguruma finally acknowledged Ukitake's "Old-man-hobby", of course not without going on to mock him about it.

"You must be awfully bored in your spare time, Ukitake", Muguruma grinned as they were slowly walking back towards the porch.

"That is not it", Ukitake replied, looking up to the stars and the bright moon. "There are times when I'm too weak to pursue my duties as a captain, but I still feel too well to stay in bed all day. And I can't expect Shunsui to come over and play Go and Koi Koi with me all the time."

"Next time, just invite _me_ over", Muguruma said confidently, "I'll be able to think of something more fun to do than to watch bonsai grow."

By now, they had reached the little red bridge that led the way across a decorative pond.

Chuckling about Muguruma's remark, the white-haired man stopped halfway across the bridge, putting his hands on the handrail and gazing at the reflection of the clear night sky on the still water.

"It's such a beautiful night", he said in a quiet voice.

Muguruma stood right behind him, answering only after a few moments. "I agree", he said in his deep voice.

He was so close to him that Ukitake could feel the heat radiating from the other man's body, contrasting with his reiatsu that Ukitake always perceived as silverish and somewhat cool. Deeply breathing in and out the nights balmy air, the white-haired man closed his eyes. If it only didn't carry the scent of Muguruma's heated skin...

It seemed the young man had come even closer, but Ukitake didn't dare to turn around. It felt like Muguruma's silver reiatsu reached out for him, mingling with his own and flowing all over his body. There was a strong, fiery feeling mixed into those stirring silver streams... was it... desire?  
Ukitake found his heart was beating way too fast inside his chest, a situation that didn't change for the better when he suddenly felt two hands gently but determinedly gripping his hips, and pulling him back against a firm and muscular body.

"Muguruma-san...?", he asked in a hoarse voice, as he felt goosebumps spread all over his skin; the focus of his attention now razor-sharp on the touch of their bodies.

"I'm gonna be straightforward", the young man whispered, his hot breath caressing Ukitake's ear and neck. "I want you, Ukitake. But if I'm making a fool out of myself, then please tell me right now, and I will never bother you again."

Slowly, Ukitake turned around to face Muguruma, who was now so very close to him, his intense, black eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"You are not making a fool out of yourself", he whispered, hesitantly placing his own hands on the younger man's midriff, but steadily returning his look. "Because I want you, too, Muguruma."

With that, he bridged the little gap that was still between them and kissed the other man's lips.

Muguruma closed his eyes. Ukitake's lips were just as soft and skilled as he had imagined, and his mouth tasted like sweet green tea and honey. The same was true for his tongue, Muguruma found out as he deepened the kiss. He could feel Ukitake opening up to him, his powerful reiatsu rising around them like tidal waves. It felt like an unseizable, enormous body of water, an ocean that was spreading before him in blue and black, still like a mirror. Muguruma smiled into the kiss.

He held the other man tightly in his grip, not allowing him to back off as he pushed him back against the wooden handrail. As their hips touched, he could feel that Ukitake was just as aroused as he was.

With a surprised moan, the white-haired man interrupted the kiss, breathlessly clutching his hands into the fabric of Muguruma's clothes. The said man used this opportunity to give some attention to the soft skin covering Ukitake's neck and collarbones, kissing and biting it playfully. At the same time, he squeezed his hips tightly against Ukitake's – feeling the other man's erection through the many layers of fabric was almost enough to send him over the edge right here and right now.

But suddenly he felt himself being pushed away by surprisingly strong hands.

"Muguruma, wait", he heard Ukitake's voice, and raised his head to give him a questioning look.

"You are going too fast", Ukitake said.

For a second, Muguruma looked startled, but then he smiled and gave the older man a gentler kiss. "I'm sorry", he said in a low, growling voice, "it's just that you're making me so fucking hot..."

"Well, and what should we do about that?", Ukitake replied in a playful tone.

"I think I'll be able to restrain myself", Muguruma carried on, slowly letting his fingers trace down on Ukitake's chest, stopping to provocatively play with the white obi, "but only if you call me by my first name."

Ukitake smiled. "That should be no problem..."

"And", Muguruma added, looking deep into Ukitake's eyes, "only if you'll call out my name when I make you cum tonight, _Jūshirō_."

"I do hope that you will return the favour", Ukitake replied, his voice shaking with arousal.

When they kissed again, Muguruma let his hands slide down on Ukitake's back, grabbing the man's firm buttocks and squeezing them. "Holy fuck", he hissed under his breath, "I love your sexy little ass..."

This made the older man laugh out in amusement. "I'm sure yours is a lot sexier than mine."

"Why don't you find it out?", Muguruma asked, wearing a wide, wolf-like grin. Ukitake was pretty sure that the young man would also behave like a wild animal in bed, which made him excited and nervous at the same time.

"I do find these many clothes a little troublesome", he answered, tucking playfully at the rope Muguruma used as a belt . With the back of his fingers, he brushed over the rippled muscles on the young man's stomach, watching amusedly how this caused goosebumps to spread all over his skin.

"Let's continue this inside, shall we?"

In Ukitake's bedroom, they quickly stripped down to their underwear and ended up making out on the futon, which was already laid out for the night.  
They were lying next to each other, kissing, their legs intertwined in a way so that Muguruma's groin was pressed to Ukitake's thigh. He had grabbed the other man by the hip and was making small, rhythmic movements to ease the tenseness of his vibrantly hard cock.

"Jūshirō", he uttered after a while, interrupting their kiss, "I know you want us to go slow, but I am totally ready for the next step."

"That's fine with me", Ukitake answered, playing teasingly with one of Muguruma's hard nipples, "what would you like to do?"

"I'd like to see your cock, for starters", the young man answered with a grin, already tugging on Ukitake's underwear. He had it removed in no time, finally releasing the other man's twitching erection from it's linen cage.

"My my, Jūshirō", he cooed, "even your cock is handsome. And look how hard it is..."

Ukitake blushed, letting out a smothered moan when Muguruma grabbed and gently squeezed his shaft.

"Kensei", he hissed, looking at him with lust-filled eyes. Hearing his name uttered by those lips for the first time, Muguruma felt a shiver running down his spine, and heat rising in his stomach.

Oh yes, he wanted to hear his name spoken in this voice many more times. He wanted to hear it whispered, screamed and moaned in utter lust.

"Ahh, Kensei, stop", Ukitake repeated when the hand between his legs started to move and to massage this very sensitive region. "I'm sorry", he said, his voice urgent, "it's been quite a while since I've been with anyone. I fear I won't last very long if you continue like this."

"That shouldn't be a problem", Muguruma replied, grinning. "We will do it again, and again... and again..."

Ukitake laughed and ran his fingers through the young man's silver hair.

"Okay, Kensei... then show me what you've got."

When Muguruma had finally squirmed free from his underwear and presented his erect cock, Ukitake was exceptionally pleased with what he saw. The young man had soft, darkish pubic hair, which led in a fine trace up to his belly button, but somehow thinned out before reaching it. His balls were thoroughly shaven, and his dick was very thick and veiny.  
Ukitake was surprised how very hard Muguruma was when he grabbed his shaft; it felt almost like a steel rod wrapped in velvet.

"That's one great cock", he whispered, rolling the wet tip in his palm.

Smiling, the young man sealed Ukitake's lips with a kiss, moving one leg across the older man's body so that he ended up sitting straddle-legged on his lovers thighs.

Ukitake just watched in eager anticipation how the young man grabbed both of their cocks with one hand, squeezing them tightly together, and couldn't help but tilt his head back, moaning with pleasure. The skin on Muguruma's dick felt burning hot against his own, and it was so incredibly hard... Moments later, the young man gave a muffled grunt, and Ukitake felt a warm liquid running down his shaft.

When he looked up, he saw that Muguruma's glans was oozing thick ropes of slippery pre-cum, perfectly making up for lube. At this sight, he felt the knot that had been tightening inside his belly melt into a hot, liquid stream. His arms lifted above his head, he dug his fingers into the fabric of the futon when the young man started to stroke both their cocks in one hand.  
He could feel his reiatsu welling up again, and he moaned, unable and unwilling to do anything about it. Muguruma easily adjusted the level of his spiritual pressure, closely observing his lover's face as he mingled and stirred their reiatsu without slowing his movements.

There it was again, that huge, dark, glassy sea...

Ukitake tried to suppress the feeling of his impending climax, welling up between his legs, as long as he could. Yet he wasn't able at the same time to refrain from loudly voicing his pleasure.

"Kensei...", he moaned, drawing out his lover's name under his breath, "Ah... I'm going to come..."

"Yeah, Baby, come!", the young man answered, his own breathing loud and fast, "don't hold back!"

"Ahh, Kensei... this is good..."

"Come on, Babe... give me your hot cum..!" He could feel Ukitake's reiatsu all around him, but now it was astir, the surface of that dark sea began to ripple, and deep, deep down, something large started to move.

Moaning ecstatically, Ukitake flexed his back, pushing his hip towards Muguruma, feeling an orgasm building up in his groin.

"I come... ahh, Kensei, please..."

"Give it to me", Muguruma demanded, "come."

Ukitake felt his balls tensing up and the cum gushing out of his cock, seconds before an indescribable, incredibly releasing feeling washed over him, momentarily depriving him of all his rational senses as the waves clashed above his head.

"All right, that's it", he heard Muguruma's quiet voice in the distance, "I wanna come now, too."

A little slow on the uptake, Ukitake drowsily opened his eyes and looked at the young man who was kneeling above him. He saw that most of his sperm had ended up on Muguruma's right arm and abdomen, from where it was running downwards, in direction of his stout, proudly erect dick.

Gazing, Ukitake thought: _that must be the most erotic sight ever in the whole world._..

"Don't just stare at it", Muguruma grinned, "come on, Babe, grab it!"

"Babe?", Ukitake repeated, bemused, but still complied with Muguruma's request. With one hand, he started to stroke the young man's thick shaft and carefully cupped his swollen balls with the other.

"Yeah, that's it", Muguruma groaned, "jerk it harder..."

"Oh, so you like it hard", Ukitake purred, intensifying his grip, "how suiting for such a big, sturdy cock..."

"Oh yeah, Babe, stroke it... just like that..."

Moaning, Muguruma threw his head back, his hands resting on his thighs, while he fucked Ukitake's well-versed hands. He loved how he slightly squeezed his balls; it somehow gave him an extra kick.

"Fuck, I'm so close... I'm gonna cum", he moaned, "aah... I wanna cum on your chest..."

"I'd love that", Ukitake answered quietly, with a tantalizing smile.

He felt the muscles in Muguruma's legs twitch and his balls tighten, pulling his cock downwards so that the cum would land on his chest.

Breathing heavily, the young man leaned forward and placed his hands next to Ukitake's shoulders.  
For a second they looked at each other, before Muguruma's eyes fluttered shut; Ukitake felt spasms running through the young man's body before the twitching cock between his hands blew his hot load all over his stomach and chest.

"Fuuuck" Muguruma was almost screaming with pleasure, before his body collapsed on top of the other man. Burying his face in the pillow next to Ukitake's head, his heated muscles still vibrating, he deeply inhaled the fresh scent of Ukitake's hair, thinking that he hadn't felt such great satisfaction in a good many years.

After a while, he slowly raised his head again, meeting the gaze of Ukitake's smooth brown eyes.

He couldn't help but start smiling broadly at the white-haired man.

"You're amazing", he whispered, softly rubbing his nose on Ukitake's cheek, whose responding chuckle was immediately muffled by Muguruma's lips.

"I was about to say the same thing to you", the older man said when their lips parted again, his fingers slightly tickling the sides of the muscular body lying atop of him.

There was a sticky dampness between them, glueing their heated skin to one another.

"I think I will have to take a shower", Ukitake stated, and Muguruma laughed out loud. He got up to all fours and started to dry Ukitake's skin with some part of his clothes that were scattered around the place.

"You've got a gorgeous body, Jūshirō", he said after a while, absent-minded, then turning to smile at the other captain. But the said one only answered with a half-hearted _thank you_.

"Come on, why so humble?", Muguruma asked teasingly.

"I usually don't picture myself as someone who is considered by other people as being... sexually attractive."

Laughing, Muguruma said: "Wow, insanely hot_ and _unassuming about it... how ravishing." With that, he bent down to kiss the man with the long white hair and perfect, slender body.

"By the way", Ukitake said, now smiling slightly, "did you really call me _Baby_ before?!"

"Yes, Babe", Muguruma grinned. "Problem?"

"Don't you think it feels strange, considering that you are easily half my age?"

"Nah. I like to call all the hot studs I fuck with _Babe_. It kinda gets me going."

"Is that so", Ukitake said, amused, "_all_ of them? How many would that be, if I may ask?"

"At the moment?", Muguruma asked, pretending to calculate. "Around... zero, except that really hot one lying next to me. What about you?"

"As I told you. It's been a while for me."

"How long?"

"About eight years."

"_Honestly_? And who was your last one?"

"You wouldn't know him. Some guy from the 3rd."

"And you don't see him any more?"

"No."

"And why did you wait eight years before..."

"What's with all these questions, Kensei?", Ukitake interrupted him, smiling leniently, "it just didn't happen, and that was perfectly fine with me."

"I'm just trying to get to know you better", Muguruma answered, "I find you interesting."

"Oh my", Ukitake chuckled and placed a hand on the younger man's side, his fingers circling with a light touch. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had ever invited one of his lovers into his private chambers. Everything had happened so fast, he hadn't even stopped to think about it – and this was a man he barely even knew...

"Do you do this often?", he asked in a playful tone. Muguruma answered with a questioning gaze. "Do what?"

"Picking up captains, for instance."

The younger man laughed. "No. You're actually the first captain I've ever _picked up_. I usually don't go for people with whom I have work relations..."

"Ditto", Ukitake sighed and lowered his gaze for a moment. "Are you... exclusively attracted to men?"

"Kinda", the young man answered, chuckling. "I've had sex with women, and it wasn't bad, but... I'd choose you over any woman in the world, that's for sure."

"How flattering."

"What about you?"

"I have never lain with a woman", Ukitake explained, "and I've never wished for it, either."

"Hm", Muguruma grinned, "what a disappointment for the female population of Soul Society..."

The older man just rolled his eyes. "Yeah", he said without much conviction and removed his hand from Muguruma's hip to comfortably fold his arms behind his head.

For a while they lay next to each other in silence, listening to each other's breathing, until Ukitake turned towards the other man and looked at him through the darkness.

"It has gotten late", he said quietly. "I think both of us should go to sleep."

"Hm", was Muguruma's only response, but he lazily got in an upright position.

"Would you maybe..." he heard Ukitake's voice behind his back, "would you like to visit me again, tomorrow maybe, for some afternoon tea?"

"For some tea, huh?", Muguruma repeated and laughed to himself. "Since I found your _tea_ to be absolutely delicious, of course I'd love to return tomorrow for some more of your..._ tea_."

"I'm pleased to hear that", Ukitake chuckled.

"... and for some more of your lovely butt", Muguruma added, looking over his shoulder, which caused the other man to laugh out loud.

"Well, let's leave it at that, then."

* * *

"Good morning, Taicho", Ukitake's grinning third seat greeted him in the morning, bowing slightly. They had come across in the narrow corridor outside his living quarters, just before sunrise.

"Good morning, Shiba-san", Ukitake said and smiled back. His third seat seemed strangely cheerful despite the early hour, and it was even before breakfast... Suspicious.

"Had a good night, yesterday?", Shiba said with a smirk. It was more of a statement than a question.

An unwelcome realisation creeped up Ukitake's back, and he felt his cheeks starting to burn.

"Well, yes, it was... quite good", he answered, thinking that he sounded like an idiot. _Quite good? Aargh, stupid! _

"Good for you", Shiba grinned and gave him a sound slap on the shoulder before he continued his way in the opposite direction. "See you at roll call", he said over his shoulder and gave Ukitake a last, conspirational wink. Ukitake sighed deeply. He trusted Shiba not to tell anyone, but still...

He was gonna have to cast some kind of shielding kidō around his bedroom the next time.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on, Jyuush! Don't be so mean, tell me!"

"Would you stop pestering me, please?!"

"Then just tell me! Why are you making such a secret of it?"

"I'm not... it's... oh, just leave it alone, Shunsui."

"I'm your best friend, Shiro!"

Not long after his encounter with Shiba in the hallway, Kyōraku had appeared at Ukitake's house, together with the very first rays of sunlight (which was extremely unusual to begin with), under the pretence of wanting to have breakfast with his friend.  
Right now they were sitting on the porch, eating rice with umeboshi and drinking tea, while the sun was slowly rising. Soon it would be time for all squads to hold the daily roll-call inspection and begin the training.

"You know I won't tell anyone", Kyōraku insisted.

Ukitake sighed acquiescently. "I know that."

"So, he came to visit you, you had some tea, and as time went by, you two loosened up..."

"..."

"and the moon was shining and everything was very romantic..."

"..."

"... and eventually, you kissed!"

"Yes, we did", Ukitake answered, staring down at the bottom of his teacup.

A triumphant grin flashed across Kyōraku's face. "Aha! And then...?"

"What, then?"

"You fucked!"

Ukitake didn't even have to utter a word, the fact that he was blushing crimson was enough of an answer. Hurriedly, he hid his face behind his teacup by emptying it in one gulp. Kyōraku just laughed amusedly and gave his friend a pat on the back.

"I knew it. He couldn't possibly have withstood your devilish charms..."

"Yeah, right", Ukitake answered, now laughing, too.

"So, when will you see him again?"

"Probably during the captain's meeting this afternoon."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

Laughing, Ukitake laid his head back, feeling much more at ease now.

"He will come by again this evening", he answered frankly.

"Good for you", Kyōraku grinned, before he put his teacup up to his lips, uttering something like "can't believe you're getting more action than I do" under his breath.

"What was that, Shun?", Ukitake asked with an amiable expression.

"Nothing", Kyōraku grinned and hastily got up to his feet. "We should get going!"

* * *

In the late afternoon, when Ukitake came home from kidou-training with the young Kuchiki, the first thing he did was look after his bonsai, happily humming to himself.  
While he was clipping away at the little twigs and branches, he let minute streams of his reiatsu coil slowly throughout the division's grounds like little rivulets, watching over his squad as they prepared for the night, people making their beds, sweeping the training ground, preparing food in the kitchen and doing their laundry. He noticed Kaien Shiba, whom he hoped to make lieutenant in the near future, sitting on a rooftop together with the squad's seventh seat, Miyako. Those two really seemed to like each other... Ukitake smiled happily to himself and continued his gardening.

He was just checking the buds of a small maple tree to see if it needed cutting, when Muguruma appeared behind him without a sound, seemingly out of nowhere.

"You are too early", Ukitake smiled without turning around.

"Darn it", Muguruma laughed, "it's impossible to sneak up on you, isn't it?"

"Well, you are not exactly stealth force material to begin with...", Ukitake bantered, just to be clutched from behind by two strong arms a second later.

"So you're teasing me?", the young man growled playfully, rubbing his nose against the soft skin behind Ukitake's ear. "Are you sure you are willing to deal with the consequences?"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle them", Ukitake smiled while turning around in the other man's embrace.

They kissed briefly, before Muguruma said in a seductive voice: "So, do you wanna get into bed right now, or are you into some foreplay?"

Surprised by this frankness, Ukitake laughed and answered: "I was hoping we would talk first."

"Mhmm", Muguruma aspirated, letting his hands slide up and down on the other man's torso, "and what is it you wanna talk about?"

"I want to know what you expect from this thing between us."

"Hmm, I haven't thought about it, really..."

"I just thought you should know that I'm not looking for a serious relationship, and I don't want anything to be public. I hope that's fine with you, too."

"That's more than fine with me", Muguruma uttered, nuzzling the skin on Ukitake's throat and neck.

"But", Ukitake continued, gently forcing the other man to face him, "what I don't want is this to be just about sex and nothing else. I don't want to feel like a mere toy, and I'm not that kind of person who just jumps into bed with anyone for fun."

"Jūshirō", Muguruma smiled, holding him by the waist, "this is_ really_ not just about sex. But I couldn't stop thinking about you all day, and knowing I'd see you again this evening made me really, really horny..."

"Oh my, I'm glad I'm not in _that_ age any more", Ukitake laughed and put his hands on the young man's hips to pull him closer, "Now that we've made things clear, we can go inside, if you want."

"That's what _I'm_ talking about", Muguruma purred and proceeded to kiss Ukitake's neck, while his hands slid under his haori to hold him captive in a tight embrace. The older man hissed when he was playfully bitten by sharp teeth and began to chuckle. "You are not trying to leave a mark, are you, Kensei?", he asked, smiling, while his right hand slid up and into Muguruma's hair to gently pull him away. "And what if I were", the young man purred, when suddenly someone flash-stepped past them with incredible speed. It happened so fast that both of them barely had the time to turn their heads when a second person arrived on top of the wall surrounding the 13th's gardens, stumbling out of the flash-step in a not-so-elegant manner.

"_YOU INSOLENT-_" The black-haired boy who had appeared on top of the wall had just been about to launch into another shunpo, when his eyes fell on the entangled captains of the 13th and 9th division, who were looking at him with surprised and murderous expressions, respectively. He stumbled again, regained his foothold and froze for a second, before he bowed down so low that his loose, black hair slid down over his shoulders.  
"My sincerest apologies", he said and disappeared before he had even raised his head again.

"Oh god", Ukitake groaned and let his forehead drop on Muguruma's shoulder. The young man chuckled. "What the hell was that."

"Shihouin-taicho and Kuchiki-kun... why...", Ukitake sighed deeply, while Muguruma began to laugh. "That little brat was the heir of the Kuchikis?"

"Precisely", Ukitake groaned, "seems like I'm gonna have some explaining to do..."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm his kidou teacher..."

Muguruma hummed and nibbled on Ukitake's ear. "I would have loved to have such a hot kidou teacher", he mumbled, his hands sliding down on his lover's midriff.

"Are you really trying to distract me from the fact that my pupil and heir of the Kuchiki Clan just caught me making out with another captain?", Ukitake sighed and closed his eyes. Muguruma just hummed and carried on to place little bites and kisses along Ukitake's collar bone. The older man groaned acquiescently. "Well, the damage is done", he mumbled, "you might as well succeed..."

* * *

The sex went by almost like the first time, except that this time, when Ukitake had been just about to come, Muguruma had bent down to take the willing cock into his mouth. He had sucked every last drop of cum out of it, and only afterwards did Ukitake realise how loud he had been crying out something like "holy fuck" or the like of it. It made him blush with embarrassment even after both of them had finished and lay next to each other in silence.

"With that kind of memory", Muguruma said after a while, grinning widely, "tomorrow I will be horny all day again."

"You took me by surprise", Ukitake defended himself, smiling. The younger man turned to face him, and gave him a long and deep kiss.

"I love to hear you scream with pleasure, Jūshirō", he whispered, "don't ever think that you have to hold back."

"I don't", Ukitake answered, gently caressing Muguruma's thigh with one hand. "Will you come again, tomorrow?"

"That is literally in your hands", the young man laughed. Ukitake took two seconds to get the pun, then he put on his most seductive smile and said:

"Hands...? Well, if you visit again tomorrow, I thought I might return the favour you did me earlier."

Muguruma just stared at him for a few seconds before answering:

"Are you really holding out to me that tomorrow night I'm in for a blowjob?"

"Maybe...?"

"Sweet mother of god, how am I supposed to survive until then?", Muguruma asked and threw his hands up in overacted desperation, "how can you torture me like that? I will have to walk around with a boner all day!"

Ukitake chuckled with amusement. "Stop exaggerating, Kensei."

"I'm not! See, now my dick is all hard again!"

Looking down, Ukitake realised that this was indeed the case, and for some reason he couldn't stop laughing.

"What's so funny?!"

"I don't know, I just... didn't expect that..."

"You see, the prospect of receiving head by the drop-dead gorgeous Jūshirō Ukitake cannot be overestimated."

"I'm really flattered, I guess", Ukitake said, still chuckling slightly, looking at Muguruma's anew erect cock. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to... stir things up again."

"If you stop talking about things like sucking me off, it will eventually go away", Muguruma said, relaxedly folding his arms behind his head.

"And what can we talk about that will help your situation?", Ukitake asked with a smile.

"Hm. How about Kyōraku", the young man suggested.

"Shunsui?" Ukitake seemed surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, the guy is a total cock block. At least, as far as I'm concerned."

"That's funny, since he was the one trying to convince me to get it on with you."

"_What?_"

"It's true."

"Wha... How does that concern him, anyway?!"

"That's what I said", Ukitake laughed, "but in retrospect I have to thank him. Getting it on with you was a really good idea."

"I do hope so", Muguruma mumbled, still slightly disbelieving. "So, he knows about... us?"

"Yeah, well... I couldn't hide it from him, he's my best friend."

"I _knew_ he looked at me funny after the captain's meeting today!"

"I'm sure he was just smiling at you."

"No, he was looking at me funny. And who can blame him, first I embarrass the shit out of myself in front of him and behave like a total dork, and now I'm bangin' his friend. I would also look at me funny."

"Stop it, Kensei, it's not like this", Ukitake chuckled. "He wouldn't have tried to set us up if that was the case."

"If you say so", Muguruma grumbled and stared at the ceiling for a while, before he said: "You two are really close, huh?"

"I guess we are..."

"Hasn't there ever been something sexual between you?"

"Of course not. He's nothing but... my best friend."

"_Nothing but_, hm?", Muguruma repeated with a smile.

"I would entrust him with my very life", Ukitake answered, "in fact, he has saved it countless times, like I have saved his."

"It's great to have such a friend", the young man said pensively. Ukitake smiled at him, but suddenly sighed and hid his face behind his hands.

"Oh my god", he groaned, "I just remembered that Byakuya-kun caught us making out..."

"Hm. I'm going to deduce that that's the name of the Kuchiki spawn?"

"Yes..."

"D'you think he's gonna tell anyone?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"Then it's not a big deal, is it?"

"Well... I guess not", Ukitake sighed. "But the conversation is going to be... awkward..."

"You have to see the bright side", Muguruma said and grinned, "at lead he didn't see us fuck."

"Oh god", Ukitake repeated, his cheeks blushing underneath his hands.

"Speaking of that", Muguruma added with a lewd smile, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow." His grin widened. "And the day after tomorrow... and the day after that..."

Ukitake laughed. "Are you planning to have sex on a daily basis?"

"Hmm, well..." The young man smiled and got up on one arm to look at Ukitake's face. "You've really got me going, you know", he purred as he stroked the older man's chest with his free hand and teasingly pinched his nipple. "It's not every day that you find a captain-level partner..."

"That is true", Ukitake answered with a smile and raised his hand to Muguruma's cheek. "Taking care not to smother a weaker sexual partner with the force of one's roused reiatsu can be quite bothersome..."

"Tell me about it", Muguruma chuckled and turned his head to playfully bite Ukitake's palm, "it's also not every day that you find someone who is as hot as you..."

"Well, thanks", Ukitake smiled, his hand moving down to Kensei's nape.

"Speaking of reiatsu", the young man said and grinned, "yours sure is impressive. I don't think I could keep up if you were to release it completely."

Ukitake laughed at that remark. "If I were to release it completely, I think I'd knock out 99% of the Seireitei's population. I usually try to avoid that."

"Such a good guy", Muguruma chuckled. "I guess I'd be like a floodwave after a dam break..."

"Probably", Ukitake sighed, as Muguruma drew closer to him, his lips hovering across the angle of his jaw.

"When I'm really close to you, I always perceive it as a huge, deep sea", he whispered, and placed a kiss close to his lover's smiling lips. "But it is very still most of the time... very controlled..."

Ukitake turned his head a little to bring his mouth close to the young man's and said: "I've mastered controlling it a long time ago," his hand sensually sliding along the young man's midriff. "But you are a formidable challenge, Kensei..."

"I always try my best", the young man grinned, "I think my storm is well suited to whip up that calm sea of yours..."

"Indeed", Ukitake smiled, before Muguruma kissed him again, right on the mouth, his tongue teasing but not intrusive. "Such kissable lips", the young man mumbled and grinned as he gently bit down on Ukitake's bottom lip. The older man only smiled in response. He was always surprised by Kensei's enthusiasm when it came to kissing him; his lovers usually were more reluctant when it came to that. He always assumed that it was because of his illness, and he couldn't blame anyone for trying to avoid mouth-to-mouth contact. Apparently, however, Kensei didn't seem to give that matter too much thought.

"I'm glad that you find me to your liking", Ukitake whispered with a playful smile, which caused Muguruma to chuckle. "Always so modest, Jūshirō..."

Just then, on the margin of his perception, Ukitake caught some activity on the grounds of his division. He slightly tilted his head and looked away, as if trying to hear a faint sound, and then looked at Muguruma again: "I think we should get going", he said then, "seems like dinner is almost ready."

Muguruma sighed. "Alright", he grumbled and went about to get up.

"Don't you eat together with your squad members?", Ukitake asked as he sat up and provisionally combed through his hair with his fingers.

"Yeah, I do, but we eat only at nine..."

Ukitake just hummed in response, watching pensively how the young man dug through the pile of their discarded clothes, trying to distinguish which piece of clothing belonged to whom. He smiled and suppressed a heavy sigh – should he really be so lucky?


	5. Chapter 5

Attention! This chapter contains graphic descriptions of SEX between consenting adults. Just fyi ;D

* * *

Byakuya was sitting seiza on the wooden floor of the training room that was adjoined to one of the inner yards of the Kuchiki estate. Since it was raining outside, the kidou lesson of today would be held indoors. He sat with a dignified expression, waiting for his teacher to arrive. Ukitake was usually exceptionally punctual, but today he was already ten minutes late.

Byakuya waited. Any other day he would have grown impatient, but today he was glad he had some more time – to think about how he would word his apology.

He could hear the hastened steps outside in the hallway before he was able to sense the familiar spiritual pressure. Even though he knew Ukitake was incredibly powerful, Byakuya could only begin to surmise the true strength of his reiatsu – during their training, his teacher had always only revealed exactly as much of his power as was necessary, and not a shred more.

The wooden door across him was sled open, and Byakuya slightly clenched his fists in his lap.

"I am so sorry for being late, Byakuya-kun", Ukitake sang before he had even closed the door behind himself. He was all smiles, as usual, and didn't seem to have a single care in the world.

"Good afternoon, Ukitake-sensei", Byakuya said with a slight bow, and watched as his teacher sat down across from him. The second Ukitake took breath to say something, Byakuya put his hands down on the ground in front of his knees. "Sensei!", he blurted out and bowed down deeply, until his nose was hovering just about one centimetre above the floor. "Please forgive me for intruding into the 13th squad's premises without permission", he said. "I am truly sorry and it will never happen again."

Slowly, he raised his head until he met Ukitake's surprised gaze, just to quickly bow down again.

"Please, accept my sincerest apologies!" This time, his head stayed down.

He could hear a deep sigh, followed by an amused chuckle from his teacher.

"Byakuya-kun", Ukitake said and smiled, "please raise your head again. There is no need for such formal apologies."

The young man hurried to sit upright again and wiped his hands on his hakama.

"I'm sorry nonetheless", he said without looking at his teacher. "Even though!", he added, and turned to look at Ukitake with fiery eyes, pointing at nothing in particular, "Even though it was all that _impudent_ demon-cat's fault!" He clenched his fist as if to catch a fluttering piece of cloth that was escaping him. "Next time I will catch her without fail, and then she will _get it_!"

Despite his student's obvious agitation, Ukitake couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I accept your apology, Byakuya-kun", he said. "But you shouldn't take Yoruichi-san's teasing too seriously. It is meant in good fun."

Byakuya was just about to retort something, when Ukitake added: "You know, I have known the both of you since you were little children. And I can't help but notice that you two are cut from the same cloth."

Byakuya gasped. "I am _nothing_ like that demon cat!", he clarified and crossed his arms in front of his chest. End of the discussion.

"I'm sure you will understand it yourself, one day", Ukitake smiled, but Byakuya just turned away his head with a "tch" that probably stood for "talk as much as you like, old man, but you're wrong".

With a sigh, Ukitake lowered his gaze and collected his thoughts for a moment.

"Byakuya-kun", he said finally, "I still wanted to talk to you about what you happened to oversee, yesterday..."

"Oh", the boy said and let his hands fall down to his lap again. He half-successfully fought down a blush and added: "I haven't told anyone. And I don't intent to, either."

"Thank you", Ukitake said, "that is good to hear. You know -"

"Sensei", Byakuya cut him short, "you don't need to say any more. That is none of my business, anyway, and I am really sorry for the intrusion. And... also for the interruption just now."

"All right", Ukitake smiled, "then let us begin the lesson. Do you have any questions regarding your homework?"

"Well, yes. I've had problems casting the _Geki_-spell on a moving target, and I have a few questions regarding the paper on _Nijū Eishō_..."

* * *

Ukitake and Muguruma continued to meet almost every night for about two weeks. Kyōraku was already starting to complain to Ukitake that he didn't have time for him any more, so Ukitake invited his old friend over in the afternoon to exchange some news.

"Let's start with: How are you?", the captain of the 8th squad began when they sat next to each other on the porch, crunching on some snacks and sipping tea.

"I'm fine", Ukitake laughed, "in fact, I feel really great."

"No wonder", Kyōraku said, shooting a dirty grin at his friend from under his hat, "when I went by your house the other night to see if you were there, it sounded like Muguruma-san really knew what he was doing."

"Oh dear god", Ukitake sighed, hiding his blushing face behind his hands, "and I guess you weren't discreet enough to just turn around and leave."

"If I had done so, I wouldn't be able now to tease you with the fact that he calls you _Babe_ in bed... or would I, Babe?"

"Damn you", Ukitake answered, face still red, but laughing involuntarily. "I beg you not to call me that, it feels completely and utterly wrong..."

"Nah, I'm not sure, Babe, I'll have to think about it", was Kyōraku's deadpan answer, which for some reason cracked his friend up completely.

"Honestly... stop it", he still managed to say between peals of laughter, holding his sides and gasping for air. "That's so embarrassing... you eavesdropping perv..."

"Wha...? _Eavesdropping? _I didn't need to eavesdrop, you could be heard from across the street!"

"Shoot..."

"Well, good for you, I guess."

"It's funny how you deny having eavesdropped, but don't say anything about being called a _perv_...", Ukitake chuckled, "seems you can identify with that."

Kyōraku just laughed. "Don't even get me started on what else I overheard..."

"Why don't we change the subject?", the white-haired man suggested, wiping the tears from his eyes, "what else is new?"

"Not much. How are things going with that Byakuya-kid?"

"Oh, quite well. He's ambitious and works really hard. And he's a clever one, too. I think he'll grow up to be a very skilled shinigami."

"Are you talking about the same kid I'm talking about?"

"Why? It's true that he has a short temper, but he's still just a child."

"A spoiled child", Kyōraku mumbled, but Ukitake carried on: "I'm sure he will soon grow out of this cocky attitude. He might very well become a captain some day."

"Well, if you say so, then there has to be something to it", Kyōraku just said, sipping his tea.

Suddenly, a wide grin spread across his face, as he turned to his friend, saying:

"Did you feel that, too?"

"Yes, I did", Ukitake answered, smiling. Just a moment ago, he had noticed Muguruma's reiatsu approaching his living quarters, but it had stopped dead nearby and vanished after a second.

"Almost seems like he's avoiding me", Kyōraku mused.

"He probably is. He's still embarrassed about getting drunk in front of you."

"Really? That old story?"

"Yeah, well... I still don't know what exactly the three of you did back then, but he thinks you must be looking down on him for what happened."

"Hmm... I don't even remember that night very clearly... all I know is that Shihoin challenged him to a drinking game called _"Drink just as much as Kyōraku-san"_. Of course, I then felt somehow challenged, too." - "Ah, so that's how things went out of hand..."

Smiling, Kyōraku looked up into the blue sky. "It's been way too long since we've been out together, Shiro."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I've been really busy lately."

"Yeah, busy having it off with some hot, young stud every night."

"Please don't change the subject back to this", Ukitake sighed, but Kyōraku carried on:

"Why are you so embarrassed about it? I can see it in your face how much self esteem he gives you. Before, you had been starting to lack some of it, you know."

"What? Self esteem?"

"Yeah. I guess being told every day how beautiful and sexy you are would leave no one unaffected."

"Well, sometimes he's really outdoing himself with flattery..." Ukitake smiled, looking up into the darkening, cloudless sky before he changed the subject: "It's going to be a beautiful night. How about a little night walk later?"

"Hmokay", Kyōraku mumbled, looking down at the wooden planks of the porch.

For a few moments, Ukitake observed him with suspicion, before he asked:

"Is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

"Hm? Why?"

"It seems like something is bothering you."

With a big sigh, the dark haired man tilted his head back. "Well, yeah", he said quietly, not looking at his friend but staring into the distance. "There's still something I had been meaning to talk to you about."

Ukitake sat back, giving Kyōraku a questioning look. "What is it?"

"It's about my lieutenant."

"Lisa-san?", Ukitake asked, wondering why his friend spoke about her as 'his lieutenant'.

"Yeah", Kyōraku sighed. "Well, to make a long story short... I slept with her."

Baffled, Ukitake kept quiet for a while, digesting this information.

They had been talking about Kyōraku's ambivalent feelings for his lieutenant before, but still Ukitake hadn't expected this sudden turn of events.

Yet again, in retrospect, maybe he could have anticipated what was eventually going to happen – considering Kyōraku's last words on that matter...

**「 **"_I really don't know, Jyuush... y'know, she has always been like a daughter to me, and I also think what she sees in me is more like a father figure. Plus, I'm her captain, and she's one of my subordinates. It'd be just too fucked up... __But then, on the other hand, she's not my daughter. And I'm not her father. She's a woman, I'm a man. In the end that's all there is to it..."_** 」**

"Are you worried because she's a member of your squad?", Ukitake asked.

"I just don't know if it was a mistake, Jyuush...", Kyōraku sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Why? What does she think about it?"

"I'm not sure. We haven't spoken since then."

"I need more details, Shunsui. When did it happen, and how? Was it her initiative or yours?"

"It happened just yesterday... I talked her into having a drink with me, after work. We spent a nice evening. When we decided to go to sleep, I wasn't completely sober, and she walked me to my bedroom. I don't know whose initiative it was. All I know is that we kissed, then she dragged me to the floor and rode me like an untamed horse... we didn't even make it to the futon."

Without wanting it, Ukitake had to laugh. "Very graphic, Shun. Thank you."

Finally, Kyōraku smiled a little, too. "You asked for more details."

"And what are you so concerned about, now? Did she say something to you?"

"When we were finished, all she said before she left was_ thank you_. I haven't seen her today, she's on a mission in district 84."

"To me it doesn't sound like you made a mistake, Shun. She obviously wanted it, too. If both of you wished for it to happen I don't think you could have prevented it in the long run. You are both grown adults that can reason with each other. But I trust you are aware that, if things were to end badly, you would most likely lose her as your lieutenant."

"I know, Jyuush. I know."

* * *

Later that evening, Ukitake was standing by his pond and feeding the fish. He watched pensively, as the big colourful Koi silently rose to the surface, to engulf their food with gaping mouths. He was wondering whether Muguruma would show up. If so, he was pretty sure he was going to attempt a surprise attack, again. The young captain of the 9th seemed to have fun trying to sneak up on him. Sometimes he envied the younger man this youthful energy...

Muguruma was observing the tall, white-haired figure from his hideout behind the trunk of a tree, only a few metres away. He had completely extinguished his reiatsu to zero. It wasn't very difficult, standing still like this. But the second he would collect his energy for an attack, the other man would notice him and parry. He decided to try and distract the other captain. Within a split second, he fired a very small _Shakkahou_ into the air and then went for Ukitake with a flash step.

Concerned, Ukitake looked in the direction of the small reishi ball that imploded somewhere above the stone wall surrounding his gardens like a reversed firework, turning his back on the approaching Muguruma. The young man already believed triumph to be within his grasp; but when he was just a hair's breadth away from his target, the other man disappeared from one moment to the next.

Startled, Muguruma came to a halt, now standing where Ukitake had been only a second ago, but the white-haired captain was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like he had flashstepped away; he had just simply... disappeared. Not even the slightest trace of his reiatsu was to be felt.

"What the..."

Before he could end the sentence, he noticed a glimmer of energy behind his back and tried to get away, turning around and bolting out of the firing line at the same time, but it was too late.

He felt himself being hit by _Bakudou No. 1: Sai_, and his arms being yanked behind his back and locked by an incredible force. Still, he landed safely on his feet, just at the right time to see Ukitake appear again, seemingly out of nowhere, only two metres away from him. And with a big, fat smirk on his face...

"Well, well, if that isn't Muguruma Kensei, captain of squad nine."

"What the fuck, Ukitake", he said, laughing. "I must admit, this is the fucking strongest _Sai _I've ever fallen victim to..."

"Thank you", Ukitake smiled, slowly coming closer. "I was tempted to use _Hainawa_, but this one does the job quite well."

With a big flare of reiatsu, Muguruma managed to break the kidou-spell that tied him, and rubbed his paining wrists.

"I think it would be really fun to cross blades with you one day, _Jūshirō_", he grinned, "how about a little sparring match sometime?"

Ukitake had reached the other man by now, gently taking his abused wrists into his own hands.

"Maybe, some day", he said. "You should work on your _Hadou_ skills till then."

"Psh, I won't need any. Tachikaze will kick your sexy little butt."

"You think so?"

"Yeah", Muguruma grinned, "by the way, you look kinda hot with your hair open like that."

Startled, Ukitake rose one hand to his head, where his ponytail should have been, just to realize that his hair tie was, in fact, gone.

With the biggest smirk, Muguruma opened his right hand before Ukitake's eyes, revealing the black hair band that he had snatched away from the other man.

"Impressive", Ukitake said with a smile, running his fingers through his long hair, "care to give it back to me?"

"No way", Muguruma grinned, pulling him closer, "you look fuckin' hot like that..."

With that, he gave him a passionate kiss, before he pressed his lips to the side of Ukitake's neck, to inhale the scent of his skin and hair.

"By the way", he mumbled, "how did you manage to disappear just now?"

"Hm?", Ukitake uttered, a little distracted, "it was _Bakudo 26..._"

"Ah. What's that, again?"

"It is _Kyokko,_ Curved Light. Didn't you pay attention in the Shinigami Academy?"

"... shut up", Muguruma said, pressing his hip against Ukitake's body and kissing him again.

"Wanna get to the fun part, or d'you wanna talk again, first?", he asked with a grin.

"The fun part?", Ukitake repeated, a little consternated.

"Yeah. Or what would you call it?"

"I don't know. I do enjoy talking to you. But it seems you consider conversing with me bothersome."

"Not at all, Jūshirō", Muguruma said as he put both his hand up to Ukitake's head and ran his fingers through his silken hair. "The fun part includes a lot of talking. Pillow talk, and dirty talk..."

"You do like to talk a lot during sex", Ukitake smiled, running his hands up and down on Muguruma's back.

"I know", the young man replied with a grin, "It really turns me on."

Slowly, Ukitake leaned forward to bring his mouth close to Muguruma's ear.

"You also like it when I bite your earlobe", he whispered, before doing just that.

"Hmm, yes", the young man sighed, letting his hands slide down to Ukitake's ass. With a sneaky smile on his lips, Ukitake continued to nibble the warm skin on Muguruma's neck. He carried on low-voiced: "And... you like to rub your hard, wet cock between my butt cheeks and between my thighs..."

Muguruma chuckled. "Hell yeah, I love that", tightly squeezing Ukitake's hip against his own, "tell me what else I like..."

"You like to have me on top of you and jerk my cock until I come all over your chest and in your face, crying out your name..."

"Oh yeah, babe, tell me more..."

"You like to grab my head during a blowjob and hold it down, making me swallow every last drop of your hot cum..."

"Oh god, and how much I like that, babe..." Muguruma groaned, feeling Ukitake's erection pressed against his own through their clothes. "And I'm going to do all of that right now... Lucky me."

"So... ready to go to the bedroom?", Ukitake asked with a sweet smile.

"Why go inside?", Muguruma whispered, "the grass will make for a fine bed..."

"No, forget it", Ukitake laughed, "I will not have that 'Byakuya-incident' repeat itself..."

"We can try and be really stealthy..."

"No, we can't."

"Yeah, on the other hand, you're right. Inside, it is!"

* * *

Tired, Kyōraku scuffled into his dark bedroom, sliding the door shut behind him, and heedlessly letting his hat, kimono and captain's haori fall to the floor.

"Why so listless, taicho?", a teasing voice sounded from one of the dark corners of the room.

Kyōraku looked up in surprise. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he became aware of the female figure leaning against the wall, watching him with an alluring smile on her lips.

"Lisa-chan", he greeted her, "I didn't know you were back already. What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you", she said, slowly walking towards him.

He didn't back off, although he was afraid of what she might do next.

"I came here with a certain expectation", she continued as she reached him, putting her hands on his waist and shooting him a seductive look from under her eyelashes. "but you appear to be quite tired..."

"Lisa, look", he said, softly pushing her hands back down, "I think we should talk about what happened yesterday."

"What's there to talk?", she asked, pouting because he pushed her away, "weren't you satisfied?"

"That's not it", he sighed, "it just feels strange, because I'm your superior, and you are kind of... in a state of dependence."

"You believe I'm in a state of dependence?", she repeated, a dangerous light gleaming in her eyes. "You really think I'm just some little girl, so intimidated by the grandeur of her captain that she'll willingly spread her legs for him any time, merely at a wink of his eye?"

"Of course not", Kyōraku hurried to correct himself, "I just..."

"Oh, _taicho_!", she squeaked in a girly voice, throwing herself at his chest, "you are so strong and powerful! Just looking at your broad, manly features makes my pussy sooo wet... oh look, I lost my panties!"

Kyōraku chuckled at this unreal display. That was really not like her... "Stop it, I got it all right!"

"Shut up, Kyōraku", she ordered, pushing him towards the futon, "both of us want the same from this, so just undress and get down. And lose that hair tie of yours."

"All right, ma'am." How could he have resisted such a sweet request?

She watched him slowly undress, with her arms folded in front of her chest. With every piece of clothing he laid down to the floor under her observant eyes, he got more and more excited. It seemed like the doubts from earlier had completely disappeared. A content smile appeared on Lisa's face when her captain, after shortly hesitating, finally took off his underwear, now standing naked before her eyes.

"What now?", he asked with a nonchalant smile, seeming very confident even without any clothes.

"Hair tie", she just said, and he laughed.

"Right, sorry. I forgot."

She waited until he had undone his hair, slowly approaching him. When he was done, she let her fingers run through his long, heavy locks of hair, before she firmly grabbed his head between both her hands, and gave him a long and deep kiss. She had to stand on her toes in order to do so, and he didn't bend down for her.

She liked it.

He put his arms around her waist, pressing her firm and slender body against his heated skin. Feeling the cool fabric of her clothes on his naked cock made him even hornier than he would have anticipated. She interrupted the kiss and let her eager hands slide up and down on his hairy chest and stomach, scratching him with her fingernails and playfully biting the skin around his collarbones.

She had to admit that his manly body was, in fact, turning her on quite a bit. Impatient, she pushed away his hands that were fondling with her obi, and quickly untied it herself, letting her kimono slide down over her shoulders. Kyōraku didn't even look at her exposed breasts, but continued to nibble on her ear and neck, while he slowly let his right hand slide up on her belly to take one of her breasts into his hand and squeeze it slightly.

Lisa felt a shiver running down her spine as he did so; his hand felt rough from wielding the sword every day, but at the same time his skin was pleasantly warm and dry, and his touch was very gentle and careful. It was only for a moment that she cherished that feeling, before she decided to speed things up. Going slow was not her style. Reaching down between his legs, she grabbed his soft, fleshy cock and his thoroughly shaved balls with one hand and gave a sampling squeeze.

"You're not hard yet?", she remarked with teasing eyes, "I assumed yesterday you took a while to get hard because you were drunk, but it seems you're slow in general."

"I've always been a late starter", he said with a smile, "besides, I wasn't drunk yesterday."

"Whatever", she said, cupping his heavy, slackened balls in her hand, gently lifting them up until her hand was pressed against his perineum, and his testicles bulged out to either side of her palm.

"I've gotta say, I quite like this", she carried on, "I know guys who get rock-hard before they're even fully undressed, and they usually don't last long enough." She continued to rub firm circles through the soft, loose skin, and Kyōraku gave a pleased little grunt.

"Let's not talk about other guys right now", he whispered with a smile, "I really like what you're doing with my balls, why don't we focus on that..."

* * *

Moaning, Ukitake lay on his back, watching through clouded eyes how Muguruma's silver shock of hair moved rhythmically up and down between his legs. He had been enjoying the caresses of the young man for quite a while now, when he felt the eager lips and tongue move downward, starting to lick and tickle the sensitive skin around his butthole.

"Ahh", he hissed, at first not quite sure if he liked this kind of attention or not, but his twitching cock soon won him over.

Muguruma's perky tongue got him all slippery down there, becoming more and more intrusive. He squirmed and tensed when he felt the tip of this tongue penetrate into his body through the wet, muscled opening.

"Kensei, what are you doing?", he asked under his breath.

"Don't you like it?", Muguruma asked back, tenderly continuing to caress the certain area with a wetted thumb.

"That's not an answer to my question!"

"How about, I'm preparing you for a fuck?"

"Were you considering discussing that kind of decisions with me first?"

Muguruma continued to place little kisses and playful bites along the insides of Ukitake's thighs and butt cheeks, while still massaging the sensitive area around his lover's entrance with his fingers.

"Don't you like anal?", he asked casually.

"I do, but not on the receiving side", Ukitake answered, trying to turn away, but Muguruma held his hips firmly in place.

"I assume you've tried it before?", the young man asked, without interrupting his actions.

"I enjoy being the top", Ukitake answered insistently, and locked eyes with his young lover.

"I promise you will like it with me", Muguruma continued calmly, with a seductive grin, "I'll take proper care of your needs..."

Pondering, Ukitake kept silent for a moment, trying not to indulge too deep into Muguruma's caressing touches.

"You think I'll let you fuck me, just like that?", he said after a while and closed his eyes, moving softly in sync with the young man's rhythm.

"I was kinda hoping you would", Muguruma grinned.

"Will you return the favour, then, next time?", Ukitake asked, his hands sliding restlessly over the cool bedsheets.

The young man just gave a big sigh. "I don't like being the bottom."

"So, neither do I. But if you get to fuck me, then I get to fuck you, Kensei."

"Hmm..."

"And- aah", Ukitake slightly twitched when Muguruma started to lick and suckle on his balls, "and for the privilege I grant you by letting you fuck me first, I want something in return..."

"What would that be?", the young man asked, momentarily interrupting his caressing.

"I'll let you know soon enough..."

"Whatever", Muguruma grinned, "if that means I get to fuck you now, I'll agree to anything!"

* * *

Kyōraku closed his eyes and let his head fall back, his hands resting on Lisa's shapely butt cheeks, gently guiding her exuberant movements. He was lying on his back, on the futon this time, and she was once more sitting atop of him. Only this time she didn't face him, but had her back turned on him, granting him a fantastic view of her naked behind while rhythmically moving her hips up and down.

"Oh, Kyōraku", she moaned, intensifying her movements, "your cock is... gorgeous... you're gonna make me come..."

The way his cock felt inside her was absolutely stunning. True, it took him a while to get hard, but the extended foreplay was totally worth it, she thought. She had actually been intimidated there for a second, when she saw how fucking long and _big _he had become.

His shape was kinda funny, really big and fat towards the tip, and becoming thinner towards the hilt. But this shape felt oh-so-good moving in and out her pussy. It felt like he really, completely filled her to the brim, and she might not have been able to take him all the way if he had just been an inch longer. So fucking amazing. She felt that she was really close to coming, and her captain gave a hot little groan as she ground that sweet spot between her pussy and her butt against his pubic bone, shoving him inside her to the hilt.

"Take it easy, girl", he mumbled under his breath, gently slowing down her movements with his hands. She let it happen, because she now felt that she would come no matter what.

He raised his head again, watching his big, fully erect cock slide in and out of that tight little pussy. He hadn't had a chance to lick her, yet, but he planned on doing so later.

"You want me... to come inside you?", he asked, while he proceeded to massage the area around her little pink butthole with his thumbs.

"Yes..." Her voice became high pitched, and her movements a little slower, savouring every inch of Kyōraku's thick shaft sliding inside her. "Yes, fill me up... fill my little pussy up..."

While she was nearing her climax, she shifted her weight to support her body with one arm, so that she could massage his balls with her free hand. The man beneath her gave a grunt when she took the now tightened and swollen balls into her hand, gently but firmly fondling the soft skin, feeling the muscles twitch underneath.

"Fuck yes, I'm gonna come", she moaned, her muscles already tightening around Kyōraku's jerking cock. With a few more convulsive movements of her hips, she reached a loud and intense orgasm.

"Oh... god...", Kyōraku growled, his fingers digging into the firm flesh of her butt, shoving himself as deep inside her as possible, as he felt wave after wave of cum gushing out of his cock, filling her pussy just like she had requested.

Only when he felt the tenseness subside and his clenched muscles slowly relax again, he released her from his tight grip. There already were red bruises in the shape of his fingers visible on her butt cheeks. She slowly let his still erect, dripping wet cock slide out of her, followed by quite an amount of cum that trickled off her pussy.

"Wow, that was a lot", she said in a hoarse voice, giving him a playfully teasing look over her shoulder. "Just the way I like it..."

Moving slowly, Muguruma kept a close watch of his lover's face, looking out for signs of distress. But Ukitake seemed at ease, his eyes were closed and his movements quite relaxed.

"I'm ready, Kensei", he whispered and shot the young man an almost defiant look from under his heavy, black lashes. "What are you waiting for?"

"Just wanted to be sure", Muguruma answered with a smile and removed his fingers from the tight opening. Invitingly, Ukitake spread his legs and raised his hip as the other man positioned himself between his thighs. He closed his eyes again and, above his head, grabbed the rim of the futon with both hands.

Muguruma allowed himself to stop for two seconds and to take in the incredible sight that presented itself – Ukitake Jūshirō, ready, willing and just about to be fucked by him, Muguruma Kensei.

That endless, dark and unperturbed sea of Jūshirō's reiatsu lay sprawled out before him, but it began to stir and ripple when he pressed the slick, leaking tip of his rock-hard dick against the entrance to this desirous body. He slid in a good length before he had to stop – Jūshirō had let escape an arousing moan and had tensed up a little, the friction putting every single nerve ending in Kensei's body on edge and sending a wave of goosebumps across his sweaty skin.

He pushed in deeper, Jūshirō gave another breathy groan – at the same time, Kensei felt himself submerge into his lover's deep blue reiatsu, and a strong current teared at his body. He had to raise his own spiritual pressure a considerable amount to avoid being carried away by that heavy tide. That Jūshirō was really something else...

* * *

Chuckling, Lisa drew her lips away from Kyōraku's, interrupting their kiss.

"Such a huge load", she said, moving her hand between her legs, "it's still flowing out of me. And it tickles..."

She was now lying next to him on the futon, Kyōraku's upper body being propped up by his elbow, his head resting on his hand. He slowly opened his eyes and lazily reached out to caress her naked breasts.

"It may go on for a while", he said with an indifferent voice. "But you know you asked for it."

"I'm not complaining", she said, bringing her hand back up to her face, contemplating the whitish, gooey mess on her fingers, a mixture of Kyōraku's semen and her own bodily fluids. "In fact, I love it like this... this melange is the most erotic and intimate proof of pure sex."

Smiling, Kyōraku softly rubbed his nose on her neck, tickling her with his beard stubble, before he whispered: "Want me to lick you clean?"

Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, but then her gaze became all alluring and she put on a content smile. "Yes, captain."

* * *

Moaning breathlessly, Jūshirō raised his head in order to get a better look at Kensei's thick cock working between his legs, being rhythmically thrust into his body. It was a thrilling sight, and the feeling wasn't unpleasant at all, although it had been a little painful after such a long time. Kensei was really giving it his all, sweat covering his whole body. A displeased grunt escaped his lips, when he pulled out a little too far, causing his cock to slide out of the tight opening. Jūshirō felt a sharp sting of arousal between his legs upon seeing his lover's ripe cock, the tip already turned purple, twitching impatiently in the cool air.

They both gave out a moan when Kensei shoved his cock back inside with a trembling hand, continuing to fuck the slender person beneath him with hard thrusts. Ready to come, Jūshirō grabbed his own neglected cock with one hand, propping up his torso on the other elbow for a better sight.

"Oh... fuck", Kensei hissed through clenched teeth, his movements becoming more erratic and intense, "you're so fuckin' hot, babe... I'mma come..."

"Wait a moment", Jūshirō requested, voice trembling, while he jerked his own cock, "I'm really close, too..."

"God, you're killing me", Kensei groaned, lowering his head to rest his forehead on Jūshirō's shoulder, but without slowing down his rhythm. "Hurry... I'm going to cum now..."

"Hold it just a sec..."

"Fuck... ah, fuck, I can't... I'm coming..." With a loud moan, all muscles in his body twitching, Kensei quickly pulled out, a split second before he blew his huge load all over his lover's chest and stomach. On the edge of his perception, he could feel Jūshirō's reiatsu rise again, the soft ripples on it's surface turned into full-blown waves. He braced himself against the enormous current, digging into the sea with his wind-reiatsu as Jūshirō reared up beneath him, his mouth opened to a silent cry as he let himself be swept away by a convulsing release.

* * *

Later , the two men were lying next to each other in silence, glancing up at the ceiling that presented itself as a wavering grey matter in the dimness of the moonlight. Lost in deep thoughts, Muguruma was playing with one of Ukitake's long strands of hair, and enjoyed the numbness of his drained body.

"Kensei", the soft voice of the white-haired captain sounded next to him.

Lazily, he turned his body on the side to face the other man with a smile.

"What is it, my Jūshirō-chan?"

"I want to ask you something..."


	6. Chapter 6

The two men were lying next to each other in silence, glancing up at the ceiling that presented itself as a wavering grey matter in the dimness of the moonlight. Lost in deep thoughts, Muguruma was playing with one of Ukitake's long strands of hair, and enjoyed the numbness of his drained body.

"Kensei", the soft voice of the white-haired captain sounded next to him.

Lazily, he turned his body on the side to face the other man with a smile.

"What is it, my Jūshirō-chan?"

"I want to ask you something I have been wondering about from the start."

"Yes?"

"Since when have you been interested in me?"

"Since when? Hm. I found you attractive since I first laid eyes on you."

"But what made you decide to try your luck with me?"

"I don't know... it was a gradual process. Why do you ask such things?"

Sighing, Ukitake folded his arms behind his head.

"I had the impression it started when we met by chance in the forest, at sunset."

"Yeah, could be."

"When you unfortunately had to witness me coughing up blood."

"I remember."

"You know, I was sure I had scared you off with that. Shunsui tried to convince me you were into me after you visited the next day. But I was sure there'd be absolutely no way you, or anyone, would still feel attracted to me, after what you saw."

"Luckily, you have now the living counter-proof lying next to you in your bed."

"But why was it exactly this occasion, of all things, that led to you making approaches to me?"

Sighing, Muguruma turned back to stare at the ceiling.

After a moment, he said: "To be absolutely honest: I've always found you attractive, but I was never sure if you were attracted to men at all, and to me in particular. I just didn't know how to approach you. When we met in the forest, and you had that fit... it's just that I had never been so close to you before. I felt horrible about this, because you were so miserable back then, but when I carried you home and held you to my chest... I was even able to smell the scent of your hair! Which made me kinda hot. And I finally took the decision to get closer to you. I just... - I just realized that I sound like a completely deviant pervert."

Ukitake chuckled at that last remark. "No, you don't. I remember, even though I really _was_ miserable, when you held me close to you, it somehow turned me on a little bit..."

"Jūshirō, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that..." Muguruma grinned, gently brushing a strand of Ukitake's long hair away from his face.

Then he moved back a little to place his head on the other man's chest, in order to examine his breathing. Taken aback by this behaviour, Ukitake stiffened uncomfortably. For some reason, this act seemed more intimate than anything else Muguruma had done to him that night; almost intrusive. "What are you doing?", Ukitake asked, trying to keep the strain out of his voice.

"I'm listening", Muguruma answered, a smile audible in his words.

Unsure about what to do, Ukitake closed his eyes to stop and think. Why did that simple act bother him so much? Why did it feel like the young man was crossing a line that Ukitake hadn't even known to exist until now?

"Hey, what are _you_ doing?", Muguruma chuckled, raising his head again to look at his lover's face. It was just then that Ukitake realized he had been holding his breath, and exhaled slowly.

"Nothing", he answered, offering a weak smile. "So, did you gain any insights?"

"Hmm" was Muguruma's only response, before he laid down his head again, pressing his ear to Ukitake's breast bone. "All I can hear is your heart", he said after a long while and started to grin, "sounds pretty good and strong."

"Accurate diagnose."

Chuckling, Muguruma moved back up to eye level and propped his head up on his arm to gaze at his lover's abstracted face. Ukitake was still absorbed in trying to figure out what that strange feeling was that lingered in his chest even after Muguruma had removed his head, when he felt a slight tug on his hair. Still smiling, the young man was raking his hand through the silky, white mane that was spread out on the pillow. "You should wear your hair loose more often", he said, "it looks really good on you."

"You've mentioned it before. But it's impractical", Ukitake replied, "it gets into my face the whole time, and during summer I get too warm when I wear it open. I was actually thinking about cutting it again."

"No!", Muguruma immediately opposed, "don't!"

Laughing, Ukitake began to stroke Muguruma's muscular upper arm. "Why is that so important to you?"

"I don't know. I just like it."

Ukitake only hummed in response, his eyes half closed, while Muguruma kept playing with a flick of his long hair.

"I think what I like best about your hair is the colour", the young man added with a grin, as he moved his hand to softly stroke and massage Ukitake's scalp instead. "It kinda matches mine..."

Ukitake smiled and closed his eyes to savour the intimate touch. "It wasn't always like that", he whispered, surprising himself a little with his words. Usually he didn't walk around telling this story to anyone.

"What do you mean?", Muguruma asked, not entirely sure what the white-haired man was referring to.

"The colour. I was born with black hair, like both my parents and all of my siblings", Ukitake explained, his voice low and even.

"Huh?" Muguruma seemed confused.

"It happened when I was a little boy. I had always been prone to illness, but this one time I was especially sick. It just got worse and worse with every week, and I've lost all memory of the worst few days – I've been told I constantly shifted between sleep and unconsciousness. Anyway, when I finally came to and got better again, my hair began to grow out white at the roots."

"It must have been a shock", Muguruma said, but a fleeting smile played around his lips.

Ukitake took the chance to smile back. "Of course it was. I kind of panicked and shaved it all of – as if that could have changed anything. But it still came back white."

The young man hummed, propped up his torso and pensively gazed down at the other man for many seconds.

"What is it", Ukitake finally chuckled, calmly returning the gaze.

It was just then the younger man's eyes softened, and he began to smile broadly. "Yeah, with black hair you would still be pretty hot", he said. "But I think I'd prefer you as you are now, even though there's a sad story behind that beautiful white hair of yours..."

"Well, I'm now at an age where people don't question my hair colour any more", Ukitake smiled, "but it always inspired curiosity when I was a child. And also some insults."

"Yeah, some kids also made fun of me, once", Muguruma remembered and started to grin. "_Once_."

Ukitake chuckled amiably. "I'm sure you showed them their place."

"You bet your ass I did", Muguruma said and rolled on his back, his torso propped up on his elbows. He put his head in his neck to look at the still amused Ukitake. "So..." he said in a curious voice, "how many siblings do you have?"

"Huh?"

"You said you were born with black hair, like your siblings."

"Right. My mother gave birth to ten children. But alive to this day are only eight. We're six brothers and two sisters."

"Wow, that's something", Muguruma laughed in surprise. "And all of you were born in Soul Society? From the same mother?"

"Yes."

"I know I repeat myself, but – wow."

"That's what most people say", Ukitake smiled. "It is also one of the things House Ukitake is famous for. Or, rather, the only thing."

"But why is your name 'fourteenth son'?"

"I get that question a lot", Ukitake laughed. "It's because I am the fourteenth son and heir born in direct lineal descent of our house."

"Hm", Muguruma said, just a little confused, "so you're the oldest of your siblings?"

"Well, I'm the oldest son but not the oldest child. I have an older sister. That was rather bad luck for my parents – the first child is a daughter and the first son is unlikely to even reach puberty..."

Muguruma knitted his brows. "Was it that bad?"

"Kind of." Ukitake sighed. "The doctors didn't give me much time back then. Until one of them suggested I should try and train my reiatsu – that has saved my life, I guess."

Muguruma smiled broadly. "Who would have guessed...", he purred and bent down to place a kiss on Ukitake's collarbone, "and now you have one of the fucking hugest reiatsus I've ever seen – or, felt, for that matter..." Ukitake only hummed in response.

"I'm sorry", he said eventually, and even blushed a little, "I know I let myself go just now, when we... you know. That was possibly a little... immoderate."

The young man began to laugh. "What are you talking about, Jū", he chuckled, "I _told_ you not to restrain yourself. And I found that fuckin' hot – feeling so close to you. You reiatsu is really amazing."

"I like yours, too", Ukitake whispered, the blush deepening a little. The young man grinned broadly in response, before he asked: "Does that run in your family or something? Having gigantic spiritual pressure?"

"Not really", Ukitake answered with a pensive smile. "I don't know where this came from. But I'm the only one – well, except... my younger sister _does_ have some spiritual pressure, but only on a very low level."

"Hmmm." Kensei hummed and made to lie down more comfortably.

"So... what about you?", Ukitake asked when the young man lay his head down on his shoulder as if getting ready to sleep. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No", Muguruma yawned, "or, dunno, actually... someone put me on the doorstep of a dojo when I was a baby; the master took me in and raised me. Together with several other boys."

"You grew up in a dojo?", Ukitake said and smiled. "Is this also where you got your name?"

"Yup."

"How was it?", Ukitake asked with a quiet voice, "did you like it there?"

"Hmm, dunno", Muguruma mumbled, "wasn't all too great, but not too bad either... And it wasn't like I had many alternatives."

"I see", Ukitake sighed and gave the younger man a pat on the arm, "you are not falling asleep on me, are you?"

"Hmmmm", Muguruma hummed and chuckled. "D'you want me out of your bed, Jūshirō?"

"I just don't want to have to wake you again. Plus, it is way past midnight..."

"Aaaallright, gettin' the message", the young man sighed and got up on his elbows, "I'mma leave for tonight..." He smiled and put a last kiss on Ukitake's lips before he got up to dress himself.

* * *

The next day, it was cold and raining outside, and an angry wind was chasing big clouds across the sky. Ukitake had to quit squad training early; he felt weak and shaky and was afraid he might catch a cold, or worse. Once again, Kaien Shiba had to fill in for him. Even though it had happened many times before, and Shiba didn't mind at all, every single time he felt really bad for abandoning his duties, to the point of being ashamed of himself.

Thus, when he was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the wind driving the raindrops against the _amado_, the wooden storm shutters, he was too worried to fall asleep. Instead, he fell into some state of half-sleep, where strange dreams confused his mind to a point where he could no longer tell reality from illusion.

As quietly as possible, Kyōraku sled the door shut behind him and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimness, before he slowly approached the white-haired captain, who was lying perfectly still on the futon. His breathing seemed very deep and laboured, almost as if he had just finished running a marathon.

"Jūshirō, are you asleep?", he whispered.

"Of course not", Ukitake answered in a hoarse, almost inaudible voice, followed by some coughing, "how could I possibly fall asleep like that."

Sighing, Kyōraku sat down next to his friend. "You were so quiet – I had hoped you were sleeping."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were really here or not", Ukitake answered, staring at the ceiling, "in fact, I'm still not convinced."

Concerned upon that strange remark, Kyōraku lightly touched Ukitake's forehead with the back of his hand. "You feel hot. Do you have a fever?"

"Possibly. I've been having strange dreams..."

"I'll get you something to drink. Do you need anything else?"

"No... just tell Kensei to leave, will you? He mustn't see me like this..."

"Muguruma's not here-", Kyōraku was about to say, just when he felt the young man's reiatsu appear very close to them. With a faint smile, he got up again. "All right, I'll tell him."

Just when he had stepped out of the room and closed the door behind himself, Muguruma came storming towards him, in a way that Kyōraku believed for a moment the young man would simply knock him over.

"Kyōraku-taicho", he whispered, suspiciously eyeing the door to Ukitake's bedroom, "how is he?"

A little surprised about this directness, Kyōraku gave a comforting smile and said:

"He's all right. Just might have an unpleasant night ahead of him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He might not catch too much sleep, but he'll be alright."

"Okay", Muguruma said, waiting for Kyōraku to move, so that he could finally step inside.

But Kyōraku just uneasily cleared his throat, continuing to block the door.

"I'm really sorry, Muguruma-san, but Jūshirō asked me to send you away. He's uncomfortable with you seeing him like this. I hope you will respect his request."

For a moment, Muguruma seemed actually hurt, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Hell, no", he answered with a devilish grin, "move it, Kyōraku."

"You will only upset him if you insist on going inside."

"Then that's the way it will be. Care to step aside?"

With a big sigh, Kyōraku slouched his shoulders and said: "Don't take too long, please. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that he left, and Muguruma carefully stepped inside the dark room.

"So that's how the both of you comply with my requests", a weak voice sounded from the futon. "How very reassuring."

"What the fuck, Jūshirō", Muguruma said instead of a greeting, "how can you charge _Kyōraku_ with kicking me out?"

"I'm sorry if you're feeling bad", the voice shot back, dripping with sarcasm. Followed by dry, painful coughs.

Great, Muguruma thought, now Ukitake had actually managed to make him feel guilty.

He sat down next to the futon, and gently brushed a strand of hair away from his lover's forehead. His skin felt damp and very hot, and Ukitake quickly turned his face away from him.

"I heard you weren't feeling well", Muguruma began to talk, softly stroking the other man's upper arm. "I just wanted to swing by to see you."

"Thank you, Kensei."

"If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. And, otherwise, I'll just go now and let you rest."

"I don't need anything", Ukitake whispered, "thank you."

Sighing acquiescently, Muguruma bent down to place a gentle kiss on Ukitake's temple.

"Good night, then. I hope you'll be able to sleep a little."

"I'll be fine. Good night, Kensei."


End file.
